Warriors in the Void: A Space Epic
by DairyProduceBasedCultLeader
Summary: Ruby Rose lived a rather mundane life, serving as the pilot for a dust freighter. That was until a raid on her ship changed everything. Now she finds herself in a galaxy of countless hazards, adventures beyond her wildest dreams, and a lot of morally questionable characters. Join her and the rest of team RWBY as they make their way through life in a chaotic galaxy. Sci-Fi AU
1. Chapter 1: The Raid

The large freighter Miló was nearing the end of it's long journey from the dust mines of the Atlas system, to the Vale system. On it's bridge a tall redhead stood behind the ships young pilot "Alright Miss Rose, drop us out of hyperspace." Captain Nikos ordered. "Yes ma'am" the pilot said as slowed the enormous vessel down.

As the ship came to a halt, the blurred lines of stars that were usually visible while in hyperspace were replaced by the still burning wreck of another freighter. Captain Nikos gasped "Lieutenant Ren, scan that ship for any signs of life, Lieutenant Valkyrie boost shields to maximum!" she shouted to her crew. "Yes ma'am" they both replied, before quickly complying.

A blonde man approached the captain "What do you think did this?" he asked, she shook her head "I don't know Jaune, but it can't be go..." Before she could finish Lieutenant Ren interrupted "Captain, we have life signs but not from that ship, there's another ship hidden behind it." As he said that a heavily armed battleship, with the Schnee Dust Cartel logo appeared from behind the damaged ship.

Jaune returned to his station "Captain, they're hailing us" Jaune said. The Captain nodded "Put them through" she ordered, with that the view of the ships vanished. In its place a woman with white hair and a scar over her eye appeared, she said "This is Captain Schnee of the SDC Battleship Myrtenaster, surrender your cargo or we will come and take it from you" she snarled. "I'm afraid I can't allow that Captain Schnee" Captain Nikos replied calmly. A smile crept onto the white haired woman's face "I'm glad you said that, now we get to kill you. My people will be there shortly so I'd start praying if I were you" she said before vanishing again.

"Captain, I can get us out of here" the young pilot insisted, But the Captain sighed and said "We could try that, but they would follow us and we can't outrun them. You four should head to the escape pods, and I'll scuttle the ship." The girl turned to her "With all due respect captain, we can't just destroy this ship and all the dust. We could all just leave and let them take it." Captain Nikos shook her head "I'm sorry but we can't let the SDC get hold of our cargo, and I can't let you die for it. So I'm ordering you all off my ship right now" she snapped at the her crew.

Lieutenants Ren and Valkyrie complied with the order and headed for the escape pods, but Jaune and the pilot stayed in place "I'm not leaving you Pyrrha, I'd rather die with you than live without you" Jaune said as tears ran down his face. She sighed "Alright, you can stay but I want everyone else off." The pilot stood up from her seat "But Capta…" she started only to be interrupted by Pyrrha shouting at her "No but's just get out of here!" The pilot tried to formulate a response but it was too late, multiple explosions rocked the ship as the Battleship opened fire. The shields were pierced and the escape pods destroyed, killing the two Lieutenants.

The Captain, Jaune, and The Pilot all dropped to their knees, overwhelmed by the sudden deaths of Lieutenants Ren and Valkyrie. But they didn't have time to mourn, a troop transport had docked with them and they could hear their assailants approaching. The Captain drew her sidearm and took cover by the door, Jaune did the same and took cover on the opposite The Captain.

The Pilot had left her sidearm in her quarters, so she just threw herself behind her seat as the attackers reached the door to the bridge. She could hear hushed voices outside, and then the door flying across the room at her. Taking a peak at what was happening, she saw a blonde woman towering over Jaune as he lay on the floor. The Captain was lying on the floor behind them, pointing her sidearm at the intruder. But, before she could fire a black haired woman kicked it out of her hand "You, really shouldn't have done that" the black haired woman said maliciously as she pulled out a knife.

The blonde woman picked Jaune up by his throat "Come on you pussy, fight back." she said as she started to squeeze. Jaune kicked at her and tied to punch her but it was futile. She laughed "Nice try" she said as she drew her own sidearm, pointed at his head and fired. His brains splatter on her and the wall, and she let his lifeless body drop to the floor. While that was happening, the black haired woman was on top of the Captain fighting for control of the knife. She had it aimed at the Captain's chest was pushing it down with both hands, while the Captain was using all of her strength to push the knife away. When the gun went off she stopped fighting, she shouted "Jaune!" as the blade slid between her ribs and pierced her heart.

The two women turned to face the Pilot's seat "Hmm, I think we may have a little friend hiding behind that" said the black haired woman, the blonde cracked her knuckles and approached the seat "Come on out, we won't hurt you… Much" she said sadistically. The pilot jumped to her feet with her arms raised "Please don't, you can have the dust. I swear I won't tell anyone about this" she begged. The blonde laughed "We don't need your permission to take it, and we don't care if anyone knows about this. So, you don't really have a leg to stand on I'm afraid, but I guess it takes balls to try to bargain with the one who just killed your friend in cold blood." The pilot back away, terrified of the blonde. "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" the blonde asked, in a surprisingly friendly manner "Ruby...Ruby Rose" the pilot stuttered out.

The blonde's jaw dropped "Daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long?" she asked. The question caught Ruby off guard "Yeah, why?" she answered, the blonde gasped "Because, I'm your half-sister." she responded. Ruby's eyes widened "That's impossible, Dad said you were dead." she said not entirely sure who to believe. The blonde shook her head "No, he just wishes that mom and I didn't exist. I'm Yang Branwen, used to be Yang Xiao Long" she said. The black haired woman approached them "So this is the sister you've been talking about?" she questioned Yang. "Yeah Blake, this is her" Yang replied.

"What are you going to do with me now?" Ruby asked. Yang sighed "Well, you can either come with us and we can hope that Weiss is willing to be merciful, or we can leave you here to either starve of potentially get picked up by another ship. It's your call" she said. Ruby considered her options, she didn't really want to go with these people. But she didn't want to be left adrift on her own, and she was spurred on by curiosity about Yang. She was about to give her answer when a masked man entered the room "Commander Branwen, Lieutenant Belladonna we have finished transferring the dust. It's time to go" he said before leaving. Blake followed him out "Don't be long Yang" she called back to the blonde. "Well Ruby, are you coming?" Yang asked, Ruby nodded "Alright, I'll come with you" she replied. Yang headed back to the troop transport, her half-sister following close behind.

When they reached the transport, it was full of heavily armed soldiers. They were confused by Ruby's presence "Commander, why have you brought her with you?" one of them asked. Blake snapped at him "Don't question your superiors Winchester!" The soldier snarled at her "I'm your superior you stupid animal." Blake slashed his throat "Does anybody else have a problem with my race?" she asked angrily. They all shook their heads, fearing for their live "Good, because the next time someone does, I'm going to make their death a lot slower than his." Yang said as she boarded the transport.

"Respectfully Commander, I have a question" said one of the soldiers nervously. Yang looked at him "Go ahead Vasilias" she urged him, "We normally don't take captives, what changed?" he asked hesitantly. Yang nodded "Since you asked nicely, unlike Winchester. I'll dignify you with an answer. This is Ruby, my half-sister. So, if any of you even look at her the wrong way, I will eject you from an airlock. Got it." the soldiers understood that their commander always stood by her threats. "Understood Commander" they all replied.

The transport took off on the short flight back to the mothership, which was close by for the dust transfer. As they left her ship behind, Ruby wondered what she had just got herself into. Would Weiss be merciful? Was this really her sister? What would happen to her now? Her first question would be answered very soon as the transport landed in a hanger on board the battleship.

When the doors opened and she got her first view of the ship from the inside, Ruby was in awe. There were all kinds of small spacecraft, fighters, bombers, transports and there were people all over the place. She stayed close to Yang as they exited the transport, many of the people in the hangar were staring at her. Yang noticed this and shouted at them "Nothing to see here, now get back to work!" and they all obeyed her.

"Excuse me Commander, what should we do with the body?" asked one of the soldiers. She shrugged "Just put it down a garbage shoot where it belongs." she ordered. Then turning to Blake she said "If anyone else gives you trouble, let me know." Blake nodded "Are we taking her to see Weiss?" she asked gesturing to Ruby. Yang sighed "We have to, as much as I want to keep her here. It's the Captain's decision." Yang looked back at Ruby "Follow us, don't touch anything, and don't talk to anyone. We're taking you to the bridge to see the Captain. Ruby gulped, then followed Yang and Blake out of the hangar.

After navigating a maze of corridors, the three of them reached the entrance to the bridge. Yang turned to her half-sister "Now, we're about to see the Captain. So, there are a few things you need to know. First, you will kneel before her. Second, you only speak when spoken to. Third, you will address her as ma'am. And Lastly, don't ever question her authority." she explained. Ruby nodded but didn't speak, taking that as her understanding Yang walked onto the bridge.

The bridge was much larger than it had been on Ruby's ship and there were a lot of people working at various stations. In the center of the room was the captain's chair, which at that point was facing away from the door. A woman with short brown hair stood by the chair, she turned around when she heard the door open before saying something to the chair's occupant. When she did this, the chair turned to face the door. There sat the Captain Schnee with a confused but annoyed look on her face. Blake and Yang saluted her and then she spoke "Another job well done, as usual Commander. But why have you brought this girl aboard my ship? You're answer better be good." Ruby knelt down before Yang responded "Ma'am I understand that we usually don't take prisoners, and I assure you I had no intention of doing so when we first boarded the vessel. However, I made the call to spare this girl when it was revealed that she is my half-sister. That being said, I will not hesitate to execute her myself should you command it."

The Captain sat in silence for a moment, before speaking "I see, well I shall speak to the girl before I make my decision." she then stood up and approached Ruby. "What is your name?" she asked "My name is Ruby Rose ma'am" answered Ruby. The Captain nodded "I see you can respect authority. Tell me, what was your role on that ship?" she asked, impressed by the girl for addressing her correctly. "I was the pilot ma'am" Ruby replied. "Did you have any influence over your captain's decision?" The Captain asked. "No ma'am, I begged he to surrender to you but she refused ma'am" The Captain nodded "Final question, choose your answer wisely. What is your opinion of the Faunus?" Without hesitation Ruby said "They are equal to human's ma'am." Ruby was terrified of how the Captain would react to her answer, but the Captain didn't order Yang to execute her. She smiled and said "Welcome aboard Miss Rose, you now have a very important choice to make. You can either be dropped off next time we dock and live a normal life, or you can join my crew. Which do you choose?"

Ruby thought for a moment, did she want to go back to trying to make it through life on her own. Or did she want to serve on a ship where she was surrounded by people with the same goals as her, and she could be with her long lost sister. The answer was an easy one "Ma'am, I would like to join your crew." the Captain smiled again "Please stand. You already seem to be a capable pilot, so you will serve as a pilot. You are now, the reserve pilot for this ship. But once you have been evaluated and trained you will also be expected to fill the role of a fighter, bomber, or transport pilot. Is that understood Miss Rose?" Ruby saluted "Yes ma'am" she said. The Captain nodded "Lieutenant Belladonna will escort you to your quarters and familiarize you with the ship. Dismissed." she said. Blake and Ruby saluted before exiting the bridge.

As they made their way through the ship Blake turned to Ruby "Were you being honest there? What you said about the Faunus or was that just because of what I did to that guy on the transport?" she asked "Of course I was being honest. Why would anyone have a problem with them?" Ruby asked confused by the question. Blake smiled "You're just like your sister in that respect. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. When were in public areas of the ship you have refer to your superiors as sir or ma'am. But in private you can just talk to them normally as long as you have their permission." Ruby nodded "Oh, yeah. Sorry ma'am, I'll keep that in mind."

They stopped off on the way, for Ruby to get her uniform. She had to stand in a scanner that took her measurements and then a machine dispensed a uniform of the correct size for her. "I've never seen a uniform dispenser before ma'am." Ruby said, Blake nodded "That's because it's unique to SDC vessels, nobody else has them as far as we know."

They soon arrived at the sleeping quarters, Blake pointed to Ruby's room and said "Since you aren't an officer you don't get a room to yourself. So, I'm afraid you will be sharing with two other crew members. I'll leave you to get to know your roommates, someone will come and get you when you are needed again." Ruby said "Yes ma'am" as Blake headed off down the corridor. Unsure of the proper etiquette for entering sleeping quarters for the first time, Ruby knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door was opened by a brown haired girl with the marks of a Chameleon Faunus. The girl looked Ruby up and down, noticing the uniform she was carrying "Hmm, I'm guessing you just got recruited from the ship we just hit" she said. Ruby nodded "Yeah I was, I'm your new roommate Ruby" she said extending a hand to the girl. They shook hands and the girl smiled "I'm Ilia, please come in" she said as she stepped to the side. As she entered, Ruby saw that the room had three bunks, three lockers, a small bathroom, and not much else. There was a girl with pink, brown and white hair sitting on the bottom bunk, she was looking at Ruby so she could see that the girl had one brown iris and one pink iris.

"Neo, this is Ruby. Ruby this is Neo" Neo waved at Ruby and Ruby waved back. "Neo here is mute, but she's one hell of a fighter." Ilia explained, getting a wink from Neo. "Oh, well it's nice to meet you Neo, I'm your new roommate" Ruby said, Neo winked at her too. "Your on the top bunk by the way Ruby, and you get the locker on the right." Ilia said.

"Is there somewhere for me to change into my uniform?" Ruby asked, hoping she wouldn't have to change in front of Ilia and Neo. Unfortunately for her, Ilia laughed and said "Sorry Ruby, I'm afraid you're going to have to do it here. But don't worry you'll get used to it." Ruby sighed "Oh well" she said before stripping down to her underwear. "Looking good" Ilia joked, making Ruby blush as she got dressed again.

"So, what do you guys do here?" Ruby asked once she was fully dressed. "I'm a explosives expert and an engineer. So I'm either fixing things on the ship, preparing munitions, tagging along on bombing missions, and occasionally helping out on transports. Neo, is a close combat specialist and a gunner. So she's either assisting with raids, playing bodyguard to officers, operating one of the ships point defense weapons, or in some cases operating the turrets on bombers and transports. What about you?" Ilia said. "I'm a pilot. Well, I'm the reserve pilot for this ship, and once I've been assessed. I'll be flying fighters, bombers, and transports." Ilia nodded

"I'm guessing you were the pilot of that last ship" Ilia said. "Yeah I was. The pilot and only survivor." Ruby replied. This confused Ilia so she asked "I've never seen them spare anyone after a raid, let alone recruit them. What's so special about you?" Ruby sighed "Well, after the rest of the crew died. I was trapped on the bridge with no weapon and no way out. Commander Branwen and Lieutenant Belladonna were about to kill me, but it turns out that the Commander is my half-sister. So they spared me and brought me aboard." she explained. Ilia was shocked "That's a hell of a story, guess I have to be extra nice to you so the Commander doesn't kill me." Ruby shook her head "Don't worry about that, I'm your equal and I don't want special treatment." Ilia and Neo both smiled at her. Ilia said "In that case, welcome to the crew Ruby."


	2. Chapter 2: The Past

Ruby was lying on her bunk, when there was a knock at the door. Ilia jumped to her feet and answered the door, when she saw who it was she saluted "Can I help you ma'am?" she asked. Ruby heard Yang's voice, she said "I'm looking for Ruby Rose, is she here?" Ruby climbed down and walked to the door as Ilia said "Yes ma'am she's here."

Yang spotted Ruby as she approached "Ah there you are, the Captain wants to see you." Ruby nodded "Yes ma'am, right away ma'am" she said as she joined the Commander. "I see you're adapting quickly" Yang said as they walked down the corridor. "Of course ma'am, I have previous experience with life on a ship" Ruby responded. "Still, Captain Schnee will appreciate that" Yang said.

"Ma'am, may I ask why the Captain wishes to see me?" Yang sighed "Well, there's an officer's meeting and they all want to know why I didn't kill you. So, they want to meet you in person." This worried Ruby, what would happen if they didn't like her? This concern must have shown because Yang said "Don't worry about it, I'm the second in command of this ship and the Captain trusts me. We also have the support of Lieutenant Belladonna and you've already impressed the Captain. So, everything will be fine."

They soon arrived at a room close to the bridge, and Yang paused outside. "Like I said before you met the Captain. Don't speak unless spoken to and don't question their authority." Ruby nodded "Yes ma'am" so Yang nodded back before opening the door and entering the meeting room. There was a long table in the middle of the room with chairs running along each side, and on each end. Yang took a seat at the far end of the table, close to the Captain.

"Miss Rose, I'd like introduce you to my Lieutenants" Captain Schnee said before pointing to a man with blonde hair and a tail "This is Lieutenant Wukong, my chief tactical officer. If you are piloting this vessel in combat, you will follow his orders to the letter. Is that understood?" she said. "Yes ma'am" Ruby replied.

Captain Schnee then pointed to a woman with orange hair "This is Lieutenant Polendina, my chief navigation officer. When piloting this vessel in non-combat situations, you will take your orders from her. Understand?" Again ruby replied with a "Yes ma'am."

A tanned woman with blue hair was next to be introduced by the Captain "This is Lieutenant Soleil, my chief engineering officer. She is responsible for all maintenance of this ship and the equipment aboard."

Then a brown haired woman with rabbit ears was introduced "This is Lieutenant Scarlatina, my chief logistics officer. She responsible for the movement of all equipment and cargo, on board this vessel."

Ruby had seen this next woman before, it was the short haired woman who had been on the bridge when she arrived. "This is Lieutenant Adel, my chief communications officer. She's responsible for all internal and external communication for the ship."

Then the Captain pointed to Lieutenant Belladonna "You have already met Lieutenant Belladonna here, she is my chief security office. She leads my personal security detail and commands our ground forces on some missions." and finally she turned to Yang "Of course you already know Commander Branwen. She is my second in command and as such, she is responsible for the day to day operation of this ship. She is also the commanding officer of our ground forces, and as you know she likes to take part in raids. Anyway, now we have that cleared up, my officers wish to ask you some questions. Do you have any objection to that Miss Rose?"

Ruby shook her head "No ma'am, it is not my place to object." The Captain smiled at this response and Lieutenant Wukong spoke up "So, you're a pilot. What experience do you have?" he asked "Yes sir I am a pilot. I've flown large freighters, frigates, small cargo transporters and various single seater spacecraft. I've flow for years now, but I have no experience in a combat scenario, sir." she replied. Lieutenant Wukong grinned "We'll soon change that, but it's good to see you're not a complete rooky." Ruby gave a small nod "Yes sir, thank you sir."

She was then questioned by Lieutenant Polendina "Miss Rose, are you comfortable with androids?" Ruby wasn't sure, as far as she knew she had never encountered an android. So, she figured that she probably didn't have a problem with them "Yes ma'am, I am comfortable with the. Although, to my knowledge I have never met one ma'am." The Lieutenant didn't respond for a moment, but then said "Thank you Miss Rose, I myself am an android." This surprised Ruby, she had no idea that androids could be so realistic. Lieutenant Polendina must have noticed, because she said "That may be shocking to you if you haven't met one of us before, I'm sure you will get used to it in time." Ruby supposed that she was never really bothered by people who were different, so she said "Yes ma'am, it will be a pleasure to serve under you." Lieutenant Polendina smiled but said nothing, which gave Lieutenant Adel a chance to speak "So kid, I hear that you see Humans and Faunus as equals. Is there any specific reason why you feel that way?" Ruby had never really thought about it before. There had never been a question in her mind about whether Faunus were equal, they just were. "Well ma'am, I've never seen a reason for them to be treated any differently. They may look slightly different to us, but you can't just go around judging them for that. ma'am" she said. This response seemed to please all of the officers, especially the three Faunus officers.

The Captain cleared her throat to get everyone's attention "Are there any further questions for Miss Rose?" she asked. The response from the officers was "No ma'am" so the Captain continued "In that case, Commander Branwen and I have something to tell you all. Commander." she said, hinting at the blonde to speak. "Oh, yes ma'am. Well, all you already know that we brought Miss Rose aboard because she has a connection to me. But what you don't know is what that connection is. This is Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long. She is my half-sister." With the exception of Ruby, Captain Schnee and Lieutenant Belladonna, everyone in the room was surprised by the revelation. "Now, Wukong, Polendina, Soleil, Scarlatina and Adel please return to your stations." the Captain ordered, the officers all stood and with a "Yes ma'am" they all left.

With the others gone Ruby now stood in the meeting room with Captain Schnee, Commander Branwen, and Lieutenant Belladonna. "Miss Rose, we have much to discuss with you. Please take a seat." the Captain said as she pointed to the chair next to the Commander." Ruby did as she was asked and took a seat next to her half-sister.

The Captain spoke softly "First of all, how are you feeling? I understand that what you witnessed may be troubling." Ruby nodded "It's strange ma'am. I know I should feel bad about what happened to the crew, but I don't feel anything." Nodding, the Captain said "Please call me Weiss while we're in private. You may be one of my crew, but you're also the sister of my most trusted officer. As for what you feel about your old crew, I don't fully understand it but I've seen it before. It seems to happen to a lot of pilots, you spend so much time staring into the void that you start to question your significance. You see the grand scale of everything, and it makes your life and the people you know seem insignificant. I wouldn't worry about it, it always passes given time. In this case I think you should be thankful, it may have saved you from being traumatized." Weiss explained. Ruby said "Thank you Weiss, that seems to make sense." earning a smile from the white haired woman.

"Now, the next order of business. Yang has a few things to tell you." Yang nodded "Well Ruby, I should explain why dad told you I was dead. Not long after I was born, my mom Raven decided that she needed to return to her tribe. She loved dad, but she couldn't deal with family life and she wanted to raise me as part of the tribe. The two of them argued over it, but eventually she just walked out on him and took me with her. We never went back to him, so to make himself feel better he likes to tell people that we both died." Hearing that her father had been lying to her for her whole life, was painful for Ruby. It may have been hard for him, but she had a right to know about her sister.

"How, did you know about me if you never went back?" she asked Yang who sighed heavily "Your mom told my mom about you, just before she died." Ruby's eyes widened "You know what happened to mom, how she died?" she asked. Sighing again Yang said "She was attacked by a Death Stalker, my mom tried to save her but she died in her arms. You see, they used to be friends before either of us were born." Ruby teared up. "So, that's how you knew who I was. That means mom saved me from beyond the grave. Thank you for telling me." Ruby said as she fought off the tears.

"You good?" Yang asked her sister, she received a small nod in response so kept talking "Right, so the other thing I felt you should know, is that Blake and I are in a relationship. That may not seem important now, but in the future if you have any serious problems. You can come to either of us and we'll see what we can do about it. In public spaces we will treat you the same as anyone else aboard this ship, but in private you are my sister and will be treated as such." Ruby nodded and turned to Blake "I may only have been on this ship for a few hours, but it's already better than any ship I've served on before." Blake smiled at her "That's great to hear, especially considering a few hours ago we almost killed you. That being said, do you have a problem with the what we do?" There was a small awkward laugh from Ruby "I don't really know what you actually do, I know you raid ships for dust but that's it." she told them.

"Allow me to explain" Weiss said as she got to her feet. "The dust companies mine and transport their dust cheaply, and then raise the prices through the roof. There aren't many reliable alternatives to dust and it's required for so many things, that people are forced to pay those ridiculous prices. So what we do, is steal the dust and sell it on at much fairer prices. We also rescue enslaved Faunus, provide protection to certain worlds, provide disaster relief, and occasionally come into conflict with various governments and organisations."

Ruby said "I don't see a problem with any of that, they seem like righteous causes. But how come you killed my crew?" Weiss sighed "We kill freighter crews that refuse to surrender because it sends a message, it makes it easier to take the dust, and it hurts the dust companies." Ruby nodded "I guess that makes sense, and you did give them a chance. So, I have no moral obligations to serving you." she said. "Alright, well if you'll excuse me I have things to do. But you three take as long as you need." Weiss said as she made her way out of the meeting room.

"How have your roommates been treating you?" Blake asked. Ruby smiled "I like Ilia and Neo, they seem really nice. Not really what I expected the crew to be like at all." she happily replied. "Good to hear, those two haven't always been the easiest to get along with." Blake said. Ruby raised an eyebrow "What do you mean not the easiest to get along with? I didn't get that impression at all." Blake sighed "It's not really my place to say, you'll have to ask them. Just don't push for it, I'm sure they'll be ready to open up to you about it eventually" she replied.

Ruby nodded before moving on "So, how did the two of you end up working for the SDC?" she asked them. Yang answered "It's a long story but I'll give it a go, as long as you're okay with it Blake." Blake nodded so Yang continued "Well I was brought up in the Branwen Tribe, which if you didn't know. Is notorious for raiding ships, stations and settlements in the Mistral system. Anyway, an Atlesian ship entered the system one day, and we decided to raid it. But on our way there, we saw that it was being pursued by an SDC ship. The SDC she contacted us and told us that the Atlesian ship was a Faunus Slave ship. So, we worked together to disable the ship and free the slaves. I lead the Branwen raiding party and Weiss lead the SDC raiding party, so we ended up fighting alongside each other to take down the crew. At one point the Captain of that ship managed to corner Weiss and gave her that scar on her face, but before he could do anymore I killed him and saved her. After that, we were searching the ship and found Blake tied up and badly beaten. You see Blake was a member of the White Fang, and when the slavers found that out they decide to do that to her. When it was all over an alliance was formed between my Tribe and the SDC, to seal the deal I joined the SDC and Blake decided that she was done with the White Fang and wanted to stay with the people who saved her. So, she joined too. We've been together ever since." Ruby didn't know how to respond to that story.

Not wanting to dwell Blake spoke "Hey Ruby, have you seen Yang's arm?" Yang's jaw dropped "You ruined the surprise Blake" she moaned, feigning annoyance, Blake raised her hands in self defense "Sorry, but it's kind of a big deal." Yang laughed and pulled up her sleeve "I may have neglected to mention this" she said while showing off her yellow robotic arm. Ruby almost fell out of her chair in surprise, quickly composing herself she said "That's pretty cool Yang, where'd you get it?" Yang shrugged "Eh, you know just a little gift from Weiss. After I lost my old one"

Ruby was considering whether to ask how Yang lost an arm, but she didn't have to. "Before you ask, Blake's ex-boyfriend cut it off when I tried to punch him." Yang said in a surprisingly calm manner, considering she was talking about the loss of a limb. "Why did you try to punch him?" Ruby asked. The mood in the room changed suddenly when the question was asked, Yang didn't respond but Blake answered for her "Adam was going to kill me, Yang tried to save me." Ruby felt bad for asking "I'm sorry Yang, if I'd known I wouldn't have brought it up." Yang sighed "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have brought it up. Anyway I think it's about time for us to get back to our duties, you can go back to your quarters" she said before walking out. Blake followed her but stopped in the doorway "Don't worry about it Ruby, your sister is incredibly tough." she said before leaving.

Ruby stood there alone for a moment "What the hell have I gotten myself into" she quietly said to herself. Then she made her way through the maze of corridors that lead to her quarters, she didn't knock this time. She just walked in, climbed onto her bunk and buried her head in the pillow. "What happened Ruby? What's wrong?" asked a concerned Ilia, Ruby sat up "Sorry Ilia, I've just been hit with a lot of information.

"You know you can talk to us Ruby, we're here for you if you need us" Ilia said. Ruby nodded "Thanks Ilia and you too Neo. There was a lot of stuff about my family that never knew and some other pretty hard hitting stuff." Ilia and Neo both smiled at her "Don't sweat it Ruby, you aren't the only one with an unfortunate past." Ruby smiled back "I was so lucky getting to bunk with you guys, I guess I'll give you the gist of what I was told." Ilia and Neo nodded "We're all ears" said Ilia.

Ruby sighed "Well basically, my dad lied to me my whole life. Telling me my sister was dead, just to make himself feel better. Then I found out that my mom was killed by a Death Stalker, which dad also never told me. Even worse, the only reason Yang even knew I existed was because while mom was dying in Yang's mom's arms, she revealed my existence." Ilia and Neo joined Ruby on her bunk "Hell, I can see why you're so upset" Ilia said. Ruby nodded "Yeah, and after all that was dropped on me. I was told about how Yang and Blake ended up in the SDC, and how Yang lost her arm." she explained as she started to tear up.

Ilia patted Ruby on the back and said "Alright Ruby, would you feel better if I told you about mine and Neo's pasts?" Ruby looked her in the eye "I don't know, it might do. But don't feel like you have to tell me anything. I don't want you dragging up any bad memories, just because of me." Ilia shook her head "I certainly don't mind telling my story. Mind if I tell your story as well Neo?" Neo shook her head and smiled.

"I'll start with my story then, I suppose." Ilia said. Ruby nodded "Alright then." she said. So Ilia continued "There isn't much too it really. My parents died in a dust mining accident when I was young. It was down to the company mistreating the Fanus workforce, so I joined the White Fang to avenge my parents. I did a lot of terrible things while I was a member, and one day I was sent to kill Lieutenant Belladonna's family. But while I was there, she and Lieutenant Wukong convinced me to leave and join the SDC. That's how I ended up here, It's only been a few months."

Ruby turned to her "I'm sorry about your parents Ilia." Ilia looked back at her "Don't be, it wasn't your fault. Anyway, now it's time for Neo's story. So, Neo used to work for the crime lord Roman Torchwick. Not by choice though, she was tortured and drugged into obedience. That's why she's mute, she screamed so much it destroyed her vocal cords. Anyway, after Roman was eaten by a nevermore, Neo was free. The SDC found aimlessly wandering the streets of Vale, and offered her a job."

Ruby turned to Neo "I'm so sorry Neo, are you okay?" she asked. Neo nodded and gave her the thumbs up. "She's incredibly resilient. But how are you? Do you feel better now?" Ilia asked. Ruby smiled "You know what, I do feel better. Thanks guys, you're great friends and I'm looking forward to the rest of our time together."


	3. Chapter 3: Gunfire and Friendship

The sound of blaring alarms roused Ruby from her slumber, she jumped from her bunk joining Ilia and Neo. What's that "She asked?" Ilia turned to her "That means we're being attacked, we need to get to battle stations. Do you have your scroll yet?" Ruby shook her head "No why?" Ilia looked concerned "Because that's how you get your orders, look we've got to go. You just wait here, they'll send a runner if they need you." The two girls were gone before Ruby could respond, so she just stood there waiting.

The ship shook violently a few times, throwing her to the ground. "Not again, not today" she said to herself, annoyed at all the excitement of the day. She thought about how unlucky she was, getting attacked twice in the same day. But she was snapped out of her thoughts by a banging on the door, opening it she found a hyperventilating man in uniform. "The Captain wants you on the bridge, come with me" he said before taking off down the corridor. Ruby barely had time to register what had been said, but she sprinted after him. She was repeatedly thrown into the walls, as the ship continued to shake violently. But she very quickly made it to the bridge.

As she entered she saw that the room was in chaos, and on the view-screen she could she an Atlesian Warship. She paused for a moment to take in the scene, before running to the Captain's side "I'm here ma'am" she said. Captain Schnee flicked her eyes to Ruby and then back to the view-screen "I want you to be here to experience the bridge during combat, just observe and keep out of the way" she ordered. "Yes ma'am" replied Ruby, before she made her way over to a corner where she could see everything without being in the way.

Lieutenant Sun had taken charge of the bridge "I want a full scan of their shields, find me a weak spot!" he shouted. "Scanning now sir!" someone responded and a few seconds later they spoke again "Their shields are mainly focused on their bow, they're neglecting to defend their underside and stern. That's where their shields are weakest sir!" The Lieutenant considered the information "Can we get behind them without exposing ourselves?!" he asked. The pilot responded "No sir, their main weapons could track us!" Lieutenant Wukong sighed "Do they have any underside defenses?!" he asked. "Yes sir, they have twelve point defense cannons!" was the response. "Do they have an underside hangar!?" he asked. "Yes sir!" someone replied.

"Let's get under them, hit them in the soft underbelly!" the Lieutenant shouted. "Yes sir!" the pilot shouted, as he flew under the enemy. "Target their underside hangars!" the Lieutenant commanded. Ruby watched as the ship's main cannons unloaded on the hangar doors. Someone yelled "Sir, their shields are still holding!" the Lieutenant nodded "We need EMP, is it charged yet?!" he asked. "No sir, currently at 20 per cent charge!" came the reply. "Damn it!" he shouted.

"Sir, they appear to be launching fighters!" someone shouted. "Scramble the interceptors!" the Lieutenant ordered "Right away sir" the man responded. "How's the EMP coming?!" Lieutenant Wukong asked "40 per cent sir!" was the reply. "Can we speed it up?" the Lieutenant asked "I'll ask Lieutenant Soleil, see what she can do sir!" someone shouted, the woman who shouted pressed a few buttons "Lieutenant Soleil, can we speed the rate of charge on the EMP?" she asked. The chief of engineering quickly responded "We could briefly shut down all non essential systems, and redirect the power". The woman turned to Lieutenant Wukong "Should we do it sir?" she asked "Yes!" he shouted back "Go ahead Lieutenant" the woman said.

Ruby watched as a dogfight erupted in front of her, the Atlesian fighters were torn to shreds by the SDC Interceptors. One of the Atlesian fighters flew straight at the Myrtenaster, only to be cut clean in half by one of the point defense weapons. Ruby wondered to herself, if Neo had fired that shot. But she quickly returned to reality when many of the lights went out "Thank you Ciel!" Lieutenant Wukong shouted. The woman monitoring the EMP shouted "Sir, EMP is now at 75 per cent!" The Lieutenant nodded "Let me know as soon as it hits full" he replied. The hostile fighters were now retreating back to the ship "Pull those Interceptors back!" The Lieutenant ordered, the man responsible for the fighters pressed a button and within seconds the Interceptors were returning. "EMP ready sir!" the woman shouted. "As soon as the Interceptors are clear, I want you to fire!" Lieutenant Wukong commanded. "Yes sir!" she responded.

As soon as the Interceptors disappeared out of view, the woman pressed a button. Almost immediately the lights all went out on the Atlesian ship and it stopped firing. "Their shield are down sir!" someone said, and for the first time since Ruby came onto the bridge. Lieutenant Wukong acknowledged the Captain "Should we let them asphyxiate, or should we put them out of their misery?" he asked. Captain Schnee thought for a moment then said "Let's be merciful." the Lieutenant nodded "Open fire!" he shouted.

The first round hit the dorsal hangar, sending people and equipment into the icy void. The second round must have hit something volatile, as a large explosion tore the ship in two. The third round hit just in front of one of the ships thrusters, burning dust came flowing from the impact site. The final round just punched a hole in the fore section of the ship.

Everyone on the bridge started to applaud Lieutenant Wukong, even Ruby joined in. "That's why you're my Chief Tactical Officer Wukong, Now go get yourself a drink. Lieutenant Polendina can take over from here." The Captain said. As Lieutenant Wukong made his way off the bridge, he said "It was a pleasure, as always."

The Captain turned to Ruby "So, what do you think?" she asked. Ruby smiled "The was incredible ma'am. I can see why Lieutenant Wukong is an officer." she said. The Captain smiled back "Excellent, now you may return to your quarters. I'll have your scroll brought to you." she said. Ruby nodded "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am." before walking off the bridge.

The corridors were packed with people returning from their battle stations, as Ruby made her way through the ship. Commander Branwen was heading to the bridge and spotted Ruby, so she stopped to talk. "Where have you been?" she asked, Ruby smiled at her "I was on the bridge ma'am, the Captain wanted me to experience the bridge in combat." The Commander nodded "And what did you think?" she asked. "It was incredible ma'am, getting to see Lieutenant Wukong in his element." Ruby replied. The response made the commander smile "There's a reason why he's the Chief Tactical Officer. Anyway I have a debriefing to get to but I'll be sure to let him know you're a fan." she said. Ruby nodded "Thank you ma'am" she said before they went their separate ways. When she got back to her quarters, Ilia and Neo were yet to return. So Ruby decided she'd try and get some more sleep, before they returned.

An indefinite amount of time later, Ruby was woken by the door opening. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Neo "Hey Neo, she said happily." Neo waved and shot her a wink. "Did you shoot anything down today?" Ruby asked. Neo grinned, nodded and held up one finger "Nice, well done!" she responded. Neo took a bow and the blew a kiss before sitting on her bunk. Just as Neo sat down Ilia walked in.

Ilia looked at Ruby "Have you been here the whole time?" she asked. Ruby shook her head and said "No, the Captain wanted me on the bridge. So, I saw everything from there." Ilia looked slightly disappointed "No fair, you got to see all the fun and I just had to switch a few systems off and on again. Will you at least tell me what happened? because I don't even know what we were fighting." she said. Ruby smiled at her and said "I'll happily tell you what happened."

"Thanks Ruby" Ilia said before Ruby started to explain. "Well, we were exchanging fire with an Atlesian ship. They focused their shields in certain areas, so we fired on their underside. Their shields held, so the Lieutenant decided to use EMP and to make it charge faster he requested that all non-essential systems be disabled. They scrambled fighters but we intercepted and destroyed them. Then the EMP disabled the ship and they were finished off with four shots. They were literally blown in half by the second shot." Ilia nodded "Wish I could have seen that." she said.

"Cheer up Ilia, you played an important role in the battle. I just stood and watched. You should be proud of yourself." Ruby encouraged her. This made Ilia smile "Yeah, I guess I did play and important part. I've got to say Ruby, it's nice having my own personal cheerleader." Ruby laughed "It's the least I can do, for someone as awesome as you." she said. "Are you flirting with me?" Ilia asked jokingly. "Maybe I am" Ruby replied.

Ilia sighed "First Neo starts winking and blowing kisses, and now you start flirting with me. I've never had this much attention before in my life, not that either of you need to stop." she said. Ruby laughed "You aren't the only one Neo flirts with, she was doing it to me just before you came in." Neo stood up with her hands on her hips, she looked annoyed with Ruby. "Sorry, Neo" she said, only for the girl to start silently laughing. "Don't you just love her?" Ilia said, Ruby nodded "I'm definitely starting to" she replied. Neo gave another bow before returning to her bunk.

"So, what should we do to kill some time?" Ilia asked. Ruby shrugged "What did you guys do before I got here?" she asked. "Well, we tried playing poker once. But it turns out that bluffing makes me turn red. So, I didn't have a chance against Neo." Ruby laughed and then Ilia continued "These days we just tend to rely on these for entertainment." showing Ruby her scroll. Ruby sighed "I hope I get my scroll soon, the Captain said I'd be getting one. But I have no idea when I'll actually get it." when she said that, Ilia joined her on her bunk. "You can share mine, until you get your own Rubes. Can I call you Rubes?" Ruby smiled "Thanks, and yes you can call me Rubes."

"What kinda music do you like Rubes?" Ilia asked "Well, I like the Achieve Men. How about you?" Ruby said. "Same here, I thought they'd go downhill when Ray died, but I like the new people they've brought in." Ilia replied. "Oh, I totally forgot about that, how did he die again?" Ruby asked. Ilia shrugged "They never actually found a body they just assumed he was dead, he walked into a cave and never returned." Ruby nodded "oh yeah I remember now. Anyway, moving on. What's your favorite movie?" she asked. "I haven't watched many movies, Neo once made me watch Uno: The Movie. So, I guess I'll say that." Ruby laughed "Oh, that's awful. It's painful to watch." she said. "Do you have a favorite movie Rubes? Ilia asked. "Not really, I only asked because it's one of those questions that people tend to ask when they're getting to know someone." Ilia laughed. "Why are you so funny?" she asked. Ruby shrugged "I don't know, I guess I just am." she said.

"You know what Rubes, I really like talking to you. But I'm incredibly tired. Mind if I get some sleep?" Ilia asked. Ruby shook her head "Of course I don't mind, you shouldn't be losing sleep because of me." she said softly. As Ilia got on her bunk she said "If you keep talking like that, I won't be able to help it. See you later Rubes." Ruby lay back down "Yeah, see you later Ilia, you too Neo." She said before rolling over and closing her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4: Zwei Station

It had been several days since Ruby had joined the crew of the Myrtenaster. Lieutenant Blake Belladonna was sitting in bed with her lover, Commander Yang Branwen. "So, how's your sister doing?" she asked Yang. "She's doing great, her scores from the simulators are crazy. She's got reactions like a machine and she can pull of maneuvers I've never seen before." was the reply. "So, she's a natural. But the poor girl got stuck on a freighter. No wonder the dust companies aren't good in a fight, if they waste talent like that." Blake said.

Yang sighed "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be fine on real missions. But I don't know how I feel about risking her life, when I've only just found her." Blake put a reassuring hand on her lovers shoulder "Don't worry about her. If she's half as good as you say, she'll be fine." she said. Yang nodded and said "I guess you're right. Anyway, I suppose we risk our lives whenever we go out there. But we're still alive and kicking. Thanks for the reminder Blakey."

Blake leaned in and kissed her on the cheek "That's the spirit. Now, I think we should probably get ready, we should be getting close to Zwei Station." she said as she got out of bed. "Fine, but can we at least shower together?" Yang asked as she watched Blake. "Come on them?" she replied feigning annoyance. When she said that, Yang jumped out of bed and sprinted to the shower "Come on Blake, there's a lot of me to clean and I only have one hand?" she said before winking at her. Blake rolled her eyes "Sure, that's why you want me in there." she said sarcastically before joining the Blonde.

A while later, the two women emerged, looking surprisingly satisfied considering they had only been "showering". They quickly got dressed and exited their shared quarters, heading for the Officers Mess. When they entered they found the room empty, with the exception of Lieutenant Adel. They got their food and then joined her at the table "How come your the only one here Coco?" Blake asked. She smiled "I may have slept in late, I love Velv but I wish the saying about rabbits didn't apply to rabbit Faunus too." she said and the all laughed. "I'm guessing you two had the same issue." she joked. Neither of them responded verbally, but they both gave small nods. Giving a knowing smile Coco said "One, of the many reasons the SDC is better than any Navy. We'd be in a lot of trouble if we were in a Navy." before getting up and heading out. "She's right you know Yang, I'm pretty sure they have rules against the things we get up to." Blake said. Yang shrugged "Eh, since when have we stuck to rules. We're just pirates with a conscience." she responded. Blake laughed "That should be the SDC's new slogan."she said. Yang nodded but couldn't respond, as she was shoveling food into her mouth.

They soon finished eating and made their way onto the bridge. "Good of you to join us" The Captain said jokingly, Blake and Yang saluted "Of course Captain." they replied. "Lieutenant Polendina tells me we'll be a Zwei Station in about ten minutes. I'll be leaving you in charge of the ship, Commander." the Captain explained. "Yes ma'am." Yang responded. "Belladonna, you'll be joining me to make the delivery." the Captain continued, "Yes ma'am, should I prepare a security detail?" Blake asked. The Captain nodded "Go ahead, Lieutenant" she said. "Yes ma'am" Blake said, before walking off the bridge.

She could have just used her scroll to gather her team, but Blake liked to see them in person. Neptune Vasilias, was the first person she went to collect. He was perfect for defending the Captain, mainly because he was madly in love with her. He wasn't the most skilled fighter, but he would happily take a bullet if he needed to. When she got to his quarters he was fast asleep, but that was quickly remedied by his roommates Scarlet and Sage dragging him out of bed. He was annoyed until Blake said "You'll be protecting the Captain." at which point he literally did a back flip from excitement.

Next was Yatsuhashi Daichi. He was a mountain of a man, who's mere presence could turn a hardened assassin into a trembling mess. He was meditating in his quarters when Blake got to him, and he joined her without complaint.

Since, she was going too. Blake only needed one more person for the mission, and she knew exactly who she wanted. Neopolitan was an excellent fighter and she had served as Roman Torchwick's bodyguard for a long time. So, she was perfect for a mission like this, and as an added bonus. Neo's roommates were two of Blake's favorite people, and this gave her an excuse to see them.

When Blake knocked on the door, Neo answered. Which was surprising because that was usually Ilia's job. "Hello Neo, can I come in?" she asked. Neo nodded and gestured for Blake to come in. When she entered, Blake saw that Ruby and Ilia weren't there. "Where are your roommates?" she asked, Neo shrugged. This disappointed Blake, but she smiled at Neo anyway. "Oh, well. It's you I'm here for anyway." she said. Neo tilted her head to the side in confusion, so Blake explained. "I want you to join me on the Captain's security detail, I know it's been a while." Neo nodded excitedly at this. "Great, well it's time to go." Blake said as she stepped out of the room, with Neo following close behind.

Blake, Neptune, Yatsuhashi and Neo made their way to the docking port, the Captain was there waiting for them. After briefly inspecting Blake's selected crew members, the Captain asked "Is this everyone?" In response Blake said "Yes ma'am, we're ready when you are." Before Captain Schnee could respond, the ship shook and there was a clunking sound as they docked. "We're going to see Junior, which is why the Commander is staying with the ship. I want this done as quickly as possible, to minimize the risks. So let's move quickly." the Captain explained as she opened the docking port. "Yes ma'am" they replied as they followed her off the ship.

Zwei Station was an old trading post, built into a hollowed out asteroid. It was located in the asteroid belt at the edge of the Menagerie System, so it was incredibly hard to find unless you knew where to look. That combined with the SDC's friendly relationship with the system's government made this the perfect location for storing and selling stolen dust. Junior, ran the SDC's dust warehouse on Zwei Station and as such, he was responsible for taking in deliveries. As, for why Commander Branwen was left on the ship. A misunderstanding in the past had lead to her destroying Junior's office and killing a number of his men.

It was only a short walk to the office, as it was close to the docks. At the door, the party from the ship were greeted by two women. They were the Malachite twins, mercenaries with a long term contract Junior's bodyguards. "Welcome, Captain Schnee. Please follow us" said one of the girls. "Junior is waiting for you." said the second, as they lead the group in. When they entered a large man with a beard, emerged from another room. "I'm glad to see you didn't bring Blondie." he said. The Captain frowned at him "Her Name, is Commander Branwen and you will refer to her as such. If not, I'll happily call her in here."

Junior raised his hands in front of him in a defensive gesture. "My apologies Captain, now shall we get down to business?" he asked. The Captain nodded "I've only got Burn Dust this time, so this shouldn't take long." she said. "Alright, I'll get things up and running and you'll be ready to go in no time." Junior said as he walked over to a control panel on the wall and entered some commands. "Thank you Junior" said the Captain. "Can I get you a drink while we wait?" he asked. "We're fine thank you Junior, there is no shortage of refreshments on my ship." the Captain responded. "Can I get you anything?" he asked. Shaking her head the Captain said "As much as I appreciate the offer, I must decline. We will return to our ship shortly, and we have everything we need already. You may be loyal, but as long as I am off my ship. The risk of me being poisoned is very high, I wouldn't be the first to die as a result of a seemingly innocent gesture." Junior sighed "Oh well, at least I tried" he said.

It was at this point that Blake's cat ears picked up on something. It sounded like it was coming from the room that Junior has emerged from. Even through a thick metal door, the sound of guns cocking is unmistakable. Rather than causing a scene, she stealthily reached into her pocket and hit the panic button on her scroll. "Are we done yet?" the Captain asked. Junior looked at the control panel "Yeah, that was the last of it. Now I'm afraid I must say goodbye Captain." he said. "Run!" Blake shouted as she pulled her sidearm and aimed it at Junior's head. As she said that Junior and the twins pulled guns, and Junior's men came running out with their weapons draw.

The Captain, Neptune, Yatsuhashi and Neo all drew their weapons. The four members of the security team took up positions in front of their captain. "How did you know?" asked an astounded Junior. Blake's cat ears twitched and he said "Oh, well no matter. You aren't making it out of here." The Captain laughed a little "You know if we don't return, my ship is going to blow this place to hell. Even if you somehow survived that, my family would make you suffer a death so unimaginably painful, that you'll regret being born." she said. Junior shook his head "The time of the SDC is over, my employer will make sure of that." she snarled. "Since we're both going to die anyway, how about you tell me your employer's name." the Captain shot back. "Fair enough, it's Cinder Fall." he said.

Suddenly, the lights went off and the room was plunged into darkness. "What the hell did you do?!" Junior demanded. He received no response but hear the door to the office slam shut. "After them!" he shouted and they all charged outside. But when they got outside, the Myrtenaster had undocked and was now facing the station, and the Captain was standing in the back of a troop transport. "See you in hell Junior!" she shouted as the doors closed. "We're doomed" Junior said as the small craft quickly pulled away.

On board the transport, Captain Schnee said "Belladonna, you saved my life once again. The rest of you, great job. But which one of you hit the panic button?" Blake raised her hand "That would be me ma'am. I hear them readying up in the other room, so I hit it." The Captain smiled "Thank you Belladonna, we would be dead without those wonderful ears of yours." she said. "Just doing my job ma'am. I think the real hero of today was the pilot. They just flew a troop transport into an are of space station that isn't designed for vehicles, carried out a touch and go at the perfect time, without alerting anyone to their presence and without sustaining any damage. All in complete darkness." Blake replied. The Captain nodded "I hadn't thought about that, but your right. That seems like it would be almost impossible. When we land and find out who it is. I'll find some way to reward them." she said. "I'm also intrigued to know how the lights were turned off without using EMP." Blake said. "Well, we have some very smart people on the ship. They're good at pulling off things like that, as you already know." the Captain replied as they landed in the hangar.

As soon as the doors opened Blake and the Captain ran to the cockpit, to see who was flying. The door to the cockpit opened and out stepped none other than Ruby Rose. The Captain said "Miss Rose, do you know what you just did?" Ruby looked worried "No ma'am. Have I done something wrong?" she asked. Captain Schnee and Blake both shook their heads and the Captain said "No, what you did, was pull off one of the most impressive feats of piloting. That I have encountered in a long time." Ruby smiled "Oh, thank you ma'am. I was just doing what I had to do." she said. Blake said "I heard that you did well on the simulators, but that was brilliant flying. I'm sure the Commander will agree." Ruby nodded "Thank you ma'am." she said. "We will discuss this later, but right now I need to be on the bridge. Please come with me, you're going to want to see this." the Captain said, as she set off for the bridge.

When they arrived on the bridge, the Commander was in the Captain's chair. She was talking to Junior "You know, I'm going to miss you Junior. Once we blow you out of existence, I'll have to find a new punching bag." she said to him. "What about all the dust on the station? You can't afford to lose it. " he said. The Commander laughed "We can always just raid more ships. Plus, it's worth it for the fireworks show it'll cause." she said. "You're completely insane!" Junior shouted. "Thank you, now it's time to say goodbye. The Captain just walked in" replied the Commander. "This isn't the end!" he shouted as the communication ended.

The Commander got out of the chair and said "Captain, we're ready to fire on your order." The Captain nodded before taking her seat back "Fire!" she shouted. A huge barrage was let loose on the station, within seconds the asteroid was gone. Replaced by a rainbow supernova as all the dust mixed and ignited in an instant. Everyone on the bridge was stunned into silence by the power and the beauty of the explosion.

After minutes of complete silence, the Captain spoke "We need to get to HQ, as soon as possible. Whoever this Cinder Fall is, we need to take her down before more of our people turn on us. Commander, gather the Lieutenants and get to the meeting room." The Commander nodded "Right away ma'am." before pulling out her scroll and contacting the Lieutenants. "Miss Rose, you may return to your quarters for now. But, I will be needing you again once we have decided on a reward for your actions today." Ruby saluted "Yes ma'am." she said before leaving.

"Lieutenant Belladonna, get yourself a drink before heading to the meeting room. You've more than earned it." the Captain said. "Ma'am, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. But I was just carrying out my duties as your head of security." Blake responded. The Captain sighed "Stop being so damn humble Belladonna, you saved my life today and possibly the lives of many others. When we reach HQ, I'm going to promote you to Commander. I know it's not traditional for a ship to have two of them, but it's the least I can do for you. Now, go and get yourself a drink. That's an order." she said. Blake was overwhelmed by the Captain's kindness. Nobody was ever like that in the White Fang, especially the higher ups. "I'm honored ma'am. Thank you." is all she said before following the order. As she walked she whispered to herself "I'm so glad we spared Ruby. She's a hero."


	5. Chapter 5: A Blessing in Disguise

Ruby returned to her quarters, she was still thinking about the sight of Zwei Station's destruction. It was the single most incredible thing and she couldn't wait to tell Neo and Ilia about it. When she entered the room Ilia and Neo both looked stressed. "Oh, what's wrong guys?" she asked. Ilia smiled "It's nothing really, for me at least. When that alert came in, I had to rush and find a way to create a distraction. I swear it almost gave me an aneurysm but I found a way to take out the lighting for that part of the station." she said.

"That explains why it was dark when I picked up the Captain." said Ruby. Ilia's eyes opened wide "They sent you for an emergency evac, they only send the best pilots on those missions." she said. Ruby nodded and smiled "Yeah, that was me. But I don't get why everyone's making such a big deal out of it. I just did my job and now I've got you, Captain Schnee, and Lieutenant Belladonna making a huge thing of it." Ruby explained. Ilia shook her head "Ruby, they only let the best pilots do things like that. So, either your incredibly lucky, or your a great pilot. You've been here about a week and they're already placing as much trust in you as they do in the squadron leaders. That's amazing." she ranted.

"When you put it like that, I kinda get why they made such a big deal of it. Thanks Ilia. But I think Neo is the real hero today, she was with the Captain when it all went to hell." Ruby said. Neo smiled at Ruby's comment. Ilia turned to her and said "So, that's what you were doing." Neo nodded then held up a finger asking them to wait.

Neo pulled out her scroll and typed something out. Then the device started to talk "Hey guys, did you know that scrolls now have a text to speech feature. So, now I can actually talk to you." The two girls looked at her in amazement "That's great Neo." they both said excitedly. Neo typed again "Thanks. Anyway, we all saved the Captain today. You should have heard they way they were talking about you on the flight back." the scroll said. "How did they know it was me who did the lights?" Ilia asked. This time Neo's scroll said "They didn't, but they're looking for the person who did." Ilia nodded "In that case, I hope Lieutenant Soleil let's them know it was me. Don't want someone else taking the credit, as bad as that makes me sound." Ruby laughed slightly "You don't sound bad, It's only fair that you get the credit. Anyway, we'll back you up if. I'm sure that Captain Schnee will be willing to listen to us, after today." she pointed out. Ilia smiled "Thanks." she responded.

Neo's scroll spoke again "Hey Ruby, I heard the Captain was taking you to the bridge earlier. Did you see what happened to the station?" Ruby smiled widely "Yeah, I saw it. It was crazy. We blew it up and all the dust created a big rainbow explosion." she excitedly said. Neo and Ilia looked disappointed "You always get to see the cool stuff. I hope they start putting us together on missions, so we can be there when things go down." Ilia said. "That would mean going on bombing missions. That's the only way I can see that happening and I've been told that they don't come up very much. But I guess we'll see what we can do now we have the Captain's favor." Ruby said. That cheered the two girls up, instinctively they both wrapped Ruby in a hug. "Thank you Rubes, I'm so glad we've got you as a roommate. And a friend." Ilia whispered into her ear. "Don't mention it Ilia." Ruby whispered back.

"Can I ask you something Rubes?" Ilia said as they pulled out of the hug. Ruby nodded "Yeah, of course." she replied. "Well, I've been wondering why you were so willing to join the crew. You know, after what we did to your last crew." Ilia said.

Ruby paused for a moment, it had only been a week but she'd pretty much forgotten about what happened. "There are quite a few reasons I think. Initially, I only joined because I didn't want to be left behind and I was curious about my sister. Thinking about it more, there were a number of things during the raid that drove my decision. If Captain Nikos had just surrendered then nobody would have died, so everything that happened is on her. For some reason, that the Captain tried to explain. I wasn't really bothered by the deaths of the other crew. I mean I felt sad about them dying, but not like I lost of a friend or a family member, or even a pet. It felt more like hearing about the death a celebrity you liked. Like it was a shame they were gone, but it doesn't really affect me. It may have been down to only being new to the crew, or this thing that the Captain told me about staring into space for too long. I really don't know. Anyway, since I got here I've only received kindness and praise from everyone. I never had any of that with my last crew, and I really love being a part of the crew. On top of that, Captain Schnee explained the purpose of the SDC and it's a very noble cause. That's why I was so willing to join the crew, and why I don't regret joining the crew." she explained. When Ruby finished, Neo and Ilia were smiling. "You really do belong here Rubes" Ilia said and Neo's scroll said "Yeah, you do."

"Thanks you two, that means a lot. Now, what should we do to kill some time?" Ruby said. Ilia shrugged "No idea. Any suggestions Neo?" The devious smile on Neo's face indicated she had something questionable in mind. But it's what her scroll said that cast aside any doubt "I know what I'd like to do with the two of you. But I don't think either of you would be down for it." They both looked at her in shock "Did you really just say that?" Ilia asked. Neo winked and struck a suggestive pose. "You're kidding right?" an increasingly concerned Ilia asked. Neo shook her head.

"Wait, does that mean all your flirting was real?" asked Ilia. Neo nodded "Oh, I thought you were just messing with me." Ilia responded. Neo typed something "It's fine if you don't swing that way, but a girl can dream." the scroll said. "Are you just talking about Ilia?" A confused Ruby asked. Neo shook her head and typed something "Before you arrived it was just Ilia, but now it's both of you." said the scroll. "But why us? I mean I understand why you like Ilia. But you've only just met me." said Ruby.

"What do you mean by that?" Ilia asked. Ruby was lost for words, she couldn't believe she'd let that slip. The silence answered Ilia's question. "Wait, so both of you like me." she said. Ruby smiled awkwardly and nodded, Neo did the same as she finished typing her message. "I like you both. You're the nicest people I've ever met, and I trust you more than anyone else. You both know about my past and you still accepted me. No matter how bad I feel, you guys are always here when I need you. On top of that, you're both really hot." the message said. Simultaneously Ruby and Ilia's hearts melted. "I like you too Neo, for all the same reasons. Rubes too. But I don't know how she feels." Ilia said as she walked over and wrapped her arm around Neo.

In truth, Ruby had never thought about that stuff until she met Neo and Ilia. She hadn't known either of them for very long. But she felt closer to them than and trusted her more than anyone else. There was her Dad, but he had lied to her about her sister, for her whole life. Then there was Yang, but she never got to see her much and still knew very little about her. But Neo and Ilia were special. From the moment they met her, they had treated her as a friend, helped her adapt to her new life, and helped her cope with revelations about her family. She had wanted to tell them all that, but she was scared that they wouldn't return her feelings. Now though, it was clear that they all felt the same about each other. "I like both of you, more than anyone else. For all those same reasons." she said as she joined them.

"What does that make us?" Ilia asked. "I don't know. I never expected this to happen." Ruby replied. "Are we girlfriends now?" Ilia then asked. "If that's what you guys want, then I guess so." answered Ruby. "Well, I'm up for it. This all seems crazy to me, but it feels right." Ilia said. "What do you think Neo?" Ruby asked as she allowed the girl to type on her scroll. A moment later Neo's response came through "I would like that, I want us to be that way." Ilia and Neo then looked to Ruby to see if she felt the same. "If both of you want this, the so do I." Ruby said.

"I never expected this to happen. I'm so happy right now." said Ilia. Neo's scroll said "I know right, this is great." Ruby said "What do we do now? I know what Neo was suggesting. But the Captain said she'd need me soon. Plus, anyone could walk in." Neo looked disappointed. "She's right Neo, I'm sure the Captain wouldn't have a problem with it. But if we get caught, we'll never live it off." said Ilia. Neo typed again "I know but I'm still disappointed. How about next time we're at HQ, we're less likely to be interrupted then." her scroll said. "Actually I don't that'll be very long, from what the Captain said when I was in the bridge. Well be going there very soon." Ruby said. This made Neo smile. "That settles it, when we get there we can get to know each other a little better." Ilia said.

All three girls' scrolls vibrated as Ilia finished speaking. They were each instructed to go to the meeting room. "Well, I think we made the right call." Ruby said, as they all headed out. On the way, they caught up with Neptune and Yatsuhashi. Those two were also heading to the meeting room. "Oh, hey guys. You all look weirdly happy" Neptune said when he saw them. "Well we're not, we're just regular happy. Thank you very much Neptune." Ilia snapped at him. "Sorry, I was just saying." replied a slightly scared Neptune. "I may have overreacted a little." Ilia said apologetically. "Just a little. Anyway, are you guys heading to the meeting room too?" A somewhat confused Neptune asked. Ruby answered "Yeah, I'm guessing this is to do with what just went down on Zwei Station."

Neptune nodded "Do you think the Captain will be there?" he asked. They all groaned in response to his question, he clearly thought he was being subtle. But pretty much everyone on the ship, with the exception of Captain Schnee herself. Knew that he was crazy for her. "Do you hear yourself Neptune, you're practically her stalker at this point. It's a wonder you're even allowed near the Captain at this point." said the normally silent Yatsuhashi. The three girls found it hilarious, but Neptune's face dropped and he asked "How did you know?" Yatsuhashi didn't answer him but Ruby did "Everyone knows except the Captain, even I know and I've only been here a week. You're not at all subtle." Neptune sighed "Well, I can't help it. Have you seen her?" he said. They all nodded "If it weren't for the fact that she'd probably put you out of an airlock. I'd say go for it. But seriously, don't tell the Captain your into her or you're pretty much screwed Nep." Ilia said.

They soon arrived at the meeting room, when they did they found Lieutenant Belladonna waiting outside for them. "Thank God, you're all here. Please, get in there quickly. They keep calling me a hero and I can't take it anymore. Hopefully, you being here should give me a break from all the unnecessary praise." she said to them. The five of them then entered the room flanked by stressed out Lieutenant. The rest of the officers were all sitting at the table, waiting for them. "Here they are, the heroes of Zwei Station." the captain said when she noticed them, the officers all clapped.

"You may be wondering why I called you here. Well, it's quite simple. We have been discussing the events of today, and the actions you took. We have come to the conclusion that you will each be given honorary titles, for what you did." the Captain explained to them "Thank you ma'am." was the response from the crew members capable of speech. "You will officially be granted these titles when we get to HQ in a couple of days. But for know I will let you know what your new titles will be. Neptune Vasilias, Yatsuhashi Daichi and Neopolitan, for defending your Captain in a hostile situation. You will now be Praetor Vasilias, Praetor Daichi and Praetor Neopolitan. Ilia Amitola, for aiding in the escape of your Captain from a hostile situation. You will now be Master Engineer Amitola. Ruby Rose, for your expert piloting ability and for evacuating your Captain from a hostile situation. You will now be Flight Master Rose." she said. "Thank you ma'am" was the response. Ruby couldn't speak for the others, but she was struggling to maintain her composure. Thankfully, the Captain's next words relieved her "Now that we have cleared that up, you may return to your quarters. You will be contacted again prior to our arrival at HQ, to make preparation. But for now, that is all." she said. "Yes ma'am." they all said before leaving.

This was the single greatest day of Ruby's life. Not only had she earned herself an honorary title, she had also started a relationship with her two favorite people in the galaxy. The raid on the Miló, truly had been a blessing in disguise.


	6. Chapter 6: A Brief Detour

Halfway through its voyage to SDC Headquarters, the Myrtenaster detected a distress signal. It was coming from a small colony on a nearby planetoid, there was a Grimm infestation that needed to be cleared out. After observing the Grimm hive from orbit. It was concluded that although an orbital strike could deal with it, this would be a perfect opportunity to test out a new weapon. The Aura Bomb had been developed by The Huntsman Alliance to help combat the Grimm, it could destroy all traces of Grimm without damaging anything else. The only issue was that it had to be deployed at close range, in this case a bombing mission was necessary. A bomber would fly into the atmosphere, and drop an Aura Bomb directly on the hive. Captain Schnee knew exactly who she wanted to fly this mission, it was of course Flight Master Rose.

Ruby was sitting on her bunk with Neo and Ilia, when her scroll vibrated. "Oh, looks like I have a bombing mission. It would also seem that I need an explosives expert and a gunner." she said to her girlfriends. They both looked at her expectantly "Know any good ones?" she asked them. "I might have a few in mind." Ilia replied. "Shall we?" Ruby asked as she jumped down. Neo and Ilia looked at each other "We shall" said Ilia, before jumping down.

The trio made their way to the hangar where a bomber was waiting for them. It was a Hail Class Medium Bomber, which as its name suggests. Is a bomber designed for medium sized bombs. The other classes being the Sleet Class Light Bomber and the Avalanche Class Heavy Bomber.

The Hail Class, required a crew of three. A Pilot to fly it and operate the nose mounted and wing mounted guns, a Bombardier to prime, aim and drop the bombs, and a Tail Gunner, to operate the rear guns. Fortunately, the three who would be manning the vehicle were the Myrtenasters best pilot, one of its explosives expert, and one of its best gunners.

When the trio reached the hangar, they were met by Lieutenant Soleil. The Lieutenant showed them the new bomb "This is the Aura Bomb, you will be dropping this on a Grimm hive. It needs to be primed just before use, as its power rapidly depletes. So, we need you to get as close to the hive as possible to reduce the time it takes for the bomb to reach the target. Now get going, Lieutenant Polendina is eager to continue our voyage. Good luck out there." she said before walking off.

Minutes later, they were entering the planetoid's atmosphere. "I can't wait to see you in action Rubes, if your test scores are anything to go by. This should be interesting." Ilia said. "Well, it'll be a while before we reach the target, so for now. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. You too Neo." Ruby said. Hey, Rubes. Have you ever seen a Grimm before?" Ilia asked. "I mean I've seen pictures, but never in the flesh. Have you?" Ruby replied. "I've seen them a few times, and I can tell you that they are not fun to deal with." Ilia said. Ruby laughed "I'm sure you didn't have a state of the art bomb and a crew as good as this, back then." she said. "Oh God no, I had a whip and I was with the White Fang." Ilia replied. "Well, now you do. So that's all that matters." said Ruby. "Yeah, this is great. I get to hang out with my two favorite people and I get to play with this cool new bomb." Ilia responded.

A few seconds later "Looks like we've got some Nevermores coming in. Get ready Neo." Ruby said. One of the Nevermores dived straight at the bomber, so Ruby opened fire. The giant bird had its wings torn off by the wing mounted guns, but before it could hit the ground it's head was blown apart by the nose mounted guns. The other two Nevermores had circled around where now chasing them. So, Neo went to work. She fired a short burst at one of them, it sliced the creatures head clean off. Then she fired a short burst as the next one, this time the rounds caught the Grimm in the chest and traveled down the front of its body. The Grimm equivalent of guts, flopped out of open wound and the bird went down like a rock. "Nice shooting you two!" Ilia shouted excitedly. "We have the best tail gunner in the business." said Ruby.

A couple of seconds later "Lancers!" Ruby yelled. Nevermores weren't particularly good at air to air combat. Lancers, could tear a ship apart in mid air. This was going to take all of Ruby's skills to survive. She pulled up hard, she flew vertically away from the swarm. Neo started firing down on the over-sized bugs. She must have taken out at least a hundred as they chased the bomber into the upper atmosphere.

Ruby went past vertical and dropped back down. She shut the engines off and used gravity to propel them. She put the plane into a spin, turning the bomber into a supersonic blender. She sliced her way through hundreds of Lancers on the way down, with Neo mopping up the stranglers. Then at the last possible moment, she pulled out of the dive. She was now skimming the surface. The Queen was the only thing still pursuing them, at this point. It shot its stinger at them pulled up slightly, allowing it to pass harmlessly underneath. A well placed shot from Neo, severed the Grimm's connection to it's stinger. Rendering it basically harmless. But Neo wasn't done with it, she started firing at its wings on one side. The wings quickly shredded and the Queen went spiraling into the ground.

"Ruby, that was amazing!" Ilia shouted. "I'm in no hurry to do it again though." Ruby replied. "You were amazing too Neo." Ilia said. The Grimm hive came into view so Ruby said "We're almost there, get that thing primed and loaded into the bomb bay." Ilia primed it and opened the hatch to the bomb bay. She placed the bomb carefully inside and closed the hatch. "Ready to drop!" she shouted as she looked down the aiming sight. "3, 2, 1. We're over it!" Ruby shouted. As soon as it appeared in her sight Ilia hit the button that released the bomb.

Neo watched as they got further and further from the hive. There was a flash off yellow, and then Grimm in the vicinity vanished. She watched as the light spread out in all directions, wiping out all the Grimm without damaging anything else. She had seen many explosions in her short life, but this was by far the most unique. Ruby circle around, and headed back the way they came. She could have flown out of the atmosphere to get back to the ship, but she wanted to assess the damage herself on the way back. She was surprised to see that the areas looked completely untouched, the only difference from before. Being, that the Grimm had all gone. "Nice job Ilia, that was a well placed bomb." she said. "To be honest Rubes, I probably didn't need to be so accurate. I mean, the radius on that thing was far greater than I expected. But thanks for the compliment." Ilia replied.

As Ruby flew into the hangar, she saw that all of the officers were waiting there "Guys, we're either in a lot of trouble, or we're about to get another praise overdose." Ruby said. "I don't know which is worse" Ilia said as they landed. "Well, at least we're facing this together." Ruby said before they climbed out of the craft. "Rose, Amitola, Neopolitan." The Captain said as they walked walked across the hangar towards her. Ruby gulped, fearing the worst. "We were all on the bridge observing the weapon test. We had a live feed of everything you just did and we just wanted to come and tell you how impressive that was. Rose, that was by far. The best display of aerobatics that any of us have ever seen. Amitola, that was perfect timing and placement. You'd think that you were a full time bombardier. Neapolitan, your accuracy and effectiveness with those tail guns. Well, I'm fairly certain that you connected with every single round you fired. The way you dealt with that Queen Lancer was a beautiful piece of marksmanship and the fact that you were still able to operate a weapon like that with those g-forces, is absolutely baffling." The Captain said. Ruby and Ilia both said "Thank you ma'am" and Neo bowed, gaining an applause from the assembled officers.

"We will arrive at HQ in about a day, and you will officially be given your honorary titles. But if you keep impressing us like this, I'm going to have to find more ways to reward you. So, for the sake of the SDC's rewards budget, I'm ordering you to return to your quarters and remain there until someone comes to collect you. We can't have you running or flying around being heroic all the time, not that we don't greatly appreciate it." the Captain said. "Yes ma'am, thank you ma'am" they said before following her orders. They exited the hanger to the sound of clapping, cheering and whooping from the officers.


	7. Chapter 7: Behind Closed Doors

Neptune was going to see Ruby, Ilia and Neo. But he stopped outside their door when he heard them talking. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop, but this was his opportunity to find out why Ilia had been so defensive the other day. So he listened in closely.

He heard Ruby say "So, we're basically there already and nobody will be coming to get us for a while. So how about we get down to business?"

He then heard Ilia say "Well if both of you are down, then so am I."

The next thing Neptune heard only increased his curiosity. Ruby said "Before we start, I want you to know that I'm still a virgin."

Neptune couldn't believe the response. Ilia said "Well, I'm sure the two of us can fix that for you."

He heard Ruby giggle and ask "Are you ready?"

Then Ilia said "Hell yeah."

Neptune felt his jaw drop but couldn't help it when Ruby asked "How many?" and in response Ilia said "As many as you want."

He heard Ruby say "Alright Then" and then it got crazy. He could only imagine what was happening to Ilia as she started moaning.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh God!"

Then Neptune heard her ask "How do you move them so fast?" and he heard Ruby respond with another question "Is it too much?"

"I didn't say stop." he heard Ilia snap and "Good. " he heard Ruby reply. Then Ilia's moaning started up again.

"Oh!"

"Oh Ruby!"

"Ruby!"

"Rubyyy!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh God!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The next thing Neptune heard confused him. Ruby said "You got it all over the wall." Followed by Ilia saying "Sorry" Then by Ruby saying "I wanted some."

The next things he heard were less confusing to Neptune. Ilia said "We can go again." and Ruby said "it's my turn."

It quickly got weird again. With Ilia asking "Do you want these, or this?" and Ruby gasping then exclaiming "You have a chameleon tongue too!"

Neptune heard Ilia reply "Yeah, aren't you a lucky girl." Followed by Ruby moaning.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Ilia!"

"Oh God!"

"Oh Ilia!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Almost!"

"I'm!"

"I'm gonna!"

"I'm gonna!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Neptune then heard Ilia say "Didn't know I was that good." Before Ruby said "I think Neo's jealous." Neptune's mind almost exploded when he realized Neo was in there too.

After Ilia asked "Are you ready?" Things reached another level of weird. Ruby said "I see the curtains match the drapes."

Then a moment later Ilia said "You don't just look like ice cream, Neo."

A short while later Neptune heard Ilia ask "You Want me to put it in there?" Before saying "Damn, even that tastes good."

He heard Ruby ask "Can I join?" Followed by her shouting "Yay!" Then a moment later saying "She was right."

The next thing Neptune heard was Ruby saying "I think she likes it." Then Ilia saying "It could be a seizure." Followed by Ruby saying "Nope, she just can't stay still."

A little while later, Ilia asked "Want a go?" Then Ruby said "Sure."

Ilia then said "Good right? Who knew that, would taste good?" Only to follow up a few moments later with "Ahh, right in the eye."

Neptune then heard Ruby say "I think I just melted our ice cream." But Ilia disagreed and said "Nope she wants to return the favour."

A short time later Ruby said "That seems excessive." Then there was a brief silence before she spoke again "Okay we can try it."

Neptune had no idea what was going on for the next part, but it sounded bad. He heard Ruby almost screaming.

"Ahhh!"

Then Ilia asked "How does that even work?" Only for Ruby to almost scream again.

"Ahhh!"

Then Ilia asked "How does it stretch that far?" But there was no answer and Ruby almost screamed again.

"Ahhh!"

The next thing Ilia said was "That's actually pretty hot." What ever it was, it made Ruby scream.

"Neoooooooooooooooo!"

It sounded like Ilia was impressed because she said "Damn. My turn."

Then she started moaning.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Oh God!"

"So tight!"

"Ahhhh!"

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"Ahhhh!"

"Neo!"

"Neo!"

"Neooo!"

"Neooooooo!"

Ilia eventually stopped moaning and asked "Did that go in your mouth?" Then asked "You like it?"

She must have been talking to Neo because rather than a response to the questions. Neptune heard an exhausted sounding Ruby say "I'm done." Then he heard an equally exhausted sounding Ilia say "Same."

Clearly, Neo didn't share their sentiment. As Ruby asked "How can you still be going?" Before Ilia said "I think you'll have to handle that yourself."

Neptune tried to picture what was happening as Ruby said "Don't worry, we're watching. Ilia asked "How does she still have the energy?" Then Ruby said "I think she's almost done." Before Ilia said. "There we go."

Neptune heard Ruby laugh and say "Now she's definitely melted." But that was the end of all the fun.

Ilia said "I'm going to bed." Ruby said "Same." Followed by Ilia saying "Come on Neo." Then it was quite.

Neptune sighed as he walked away. He said to himself "Well that was a thing and now I know why they were acting weirdly."


	8. Chapter 8: Headquarters (Part 1)

Ruby woke up to the sound of banging on the door, she tried to get up and answer it when she realised what state she was in. She was lying on her bunk completely naked with Ilia in the same state of undress lying next to her, and Neo lying on top of her. The other two were still asleep, so to get out she had to push Neo off and climb over Ilia. "Just a minute!" she shouted as she quickly threw some clothes on.

She opened the door slightly and peeked out. It was Lieutenant Belladonna "Am I interrupting something?" asked the slightly amused Cat-Faunus. "Oh, no sorry ma'am. We just weren't in the appropriate state to answer the door." replied an embarrassed Ruby. The Lieutenant laughed "I'm sure, after what I heard coming from this room earlier. I'm surprised you can even stand." she said. Ruby's heart dropped "You heard that?" she asked. "It was hard to miss, you may be getting some funny looks for a while. Don't worry about it though, it wouldn't be the first time some crew members did something like that." the Lieutenant replied. Ruby didn't know what to say, so the Lieutenant broke the awkward silence "Anyway, I think you three have earned the chance to blow off some steam. Given what' you've been up to in the past few days." Ruby nodded "Thank you ma'am. Now, can I ask why you are here?" she asked. "Oh, almost forgot about that. We're almost at HQ, so the Captain wants to speak with you all about getting your titles and stuff. She's in the meeting room waiting for you" Lieutenant Belladonna explained.

During the conversation. Ilia and Neo had woken up and got dressed. "Okay ma'am. We'll quickly get ready and make our way over there, thanks for letting me know." Ruby said. The Lieutenant nodded "In that case, I'll let her know your on the way. Just, don't take too long. She may be crazy about you right now, but she still wants to see you before we get there. See you there." she said before walking away. Ruby closed the door and turned to her girlfriends. "Well guys, it seems like our secret is out." she said. Neo shrugged and Ilia said "Oh well, it was worth it."

As the trio made their way down the corridor, people gawked at them. Neo seemed to enjoy all the attention, she was bowing to them as she walked. While, Ilia just smiled to herself, not caring what people thought. Ruby, didn't know how to feel about everyone knowing. So, she just kept her head down and kept walking. As they entered the meeting room they saw the Captain, Neptune and Yatsuhashi were waiting for them. "Ah, Miss Rose, Miss Amitola, Miss Neopolitan. I must say, if anyone else was late to one of my meetings I'd be less than pleased. But, given your recent actions. I can't bring myself to discipline you. Anyway, I've grown used to my crewmember getting familiar with each other. Adel and Scarlatina for instance, even Belladonna and Branwen. Honestly, I can't hold your actions against you. Especially, since you've proven how well you work as a team." The Captain said. "Thank you ma'am. But we would like to apologize for being late." Ruby and Ilia responded.

"Now that I have all of you here, I just want to go over what will happen when we get to HQ. When we dock, I want you to join myself and my officers. We will all be going to the awards ceremony, and as you will be receiving the awards. We need you to be there. Once you have your awards, you will have access to VIP areas of station. You will also be mixing with various officers and high ranking officials, so you will need to be on your best behaviour. Now, go and collect your dress uniforms, get changed, and report back here." The Captain said. "Yes ma'am" They all said before leaving.

"Did you girls have fun earlier?" Neptune asked as they went for their dress uniforms. They all looked at him. Neo smiled, Ruby glared, and Ilia said "Yes we did, you jealous?" Neptune shook his head "No!" he snapped. The three girls laughed at him "So, you are jealous." Ilia said. Neptune sighed "Alright, fine. I guess I'm a little jealous." he said. "Look Neptune, if you're so crazy for the Captain just go fo it. She has a very stressful job and I'm sure she could use someone. But if you aren't going to do anything about it, then stop being such a baby." Ilia said. "I can't Ilia, she's the Captain." Neptune whined. "Well, it's nothing to do with us. So let's just get on with this." Ilia said as they arrived at the uniform dispenser.

A short while later, they returned to the meeting in their white dress uniforms. All of the officers were there, and they all gave them funny looks. Commander Branwen looked particularly disturbed, which was reasonable considering that she was looking at her sister and the two girls who defiled her. Although, she couldn't really complain after her wild youth. "You clean up nicely." said the Captain. "Thank you ma'am." they all replied. "Now, we're coming into dock. So, stay close to us. We can't have you wandering off and getting lost. This place is a maze, and even I get lost from time to time." they Captain explained. "Yes ma'am." was the reply. "Just a word of warning. If we encounter my brother, don't engage with him. He may be family, but he's really easy to hate." Captain Schnee said as the ship shook and docked.

As they stepped out of the docking port, Ruby was struck by the sheer scale of the palace. She hadn't seen the outside, but from the many levels and wide open spaces. She could tell it was an enormous structure, dwarfing even the largest of dust freighters. There were several ships of varying sizes, docked close to the Myrtenaster and there were people milling about all over the place.

As they made their way across the vast chamber that was the docking station, people moved out of their way and Ruby could see that they looked scared. Ruby understood that a lot of people were scared of the Captain, but why were the people from the SDC so scared. Was it because she was a Schnee and they didn't want to get on her bad side, or was there something else that she wasn't aware of. Ruby decided to shrug it off for the time being, she would probably find out soon anyway.

"Hello sister." Ruby heard a male voice say. "Hello Whitley" the Captain replied. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Whitley asked. "Some new information has come to light, I need to discuss it with the council." the Captain explained. "Then why have you brought your brutes with you?" Whitley asked. "My crew members are here because they saved my life, so they need to be rewarded." the Captain angrily retorted. "Just what we need, more savages hanging around. We already have the Branwens here, that's enough for me." Whitley said. Ruby saw Commander Branwen ball her hands at his comment. "May I remind you that the Branwens are our allies. As a matter of fact I have one right here. If weren't my brother, I would let her kill you for that comment." Captain Schnee snapped. "They are nothing more than criminal." Whitley hissed. "So are we, you dolt." the Captain quipped. "I'm tired of this dear sister, find me when you come to your senses." Whitley said before walking off. "See what I mean." the Captain said to the crew, as soon as he was out of earshot. Everyone nodded in agreement.

They walked for a while longer, before the captain stopped them in front of a set of large wooden doors, that looked out of place in the mostly metallic complex. "This is the office of Admiral Schnee, my older sister. She will be conducting the awards ceremony and I want to introduce those of you who haven't met her before." the Captain said before knocking on the door. "Enter!" someone shouted from inside. "I'll go in first and let her know we're here." the Captain said quietly before entering the room. When we doors closed behind the Captain, Ruby could hear muffled voices. She didn't know what they were saying, but they sounded happy.

A moment later the doors opened and the Captain waved for them to enter. The inside of office was completely different from everything on the outside. The walls were covered in bookshelves and there was large wooden desk at the far end of the room. At the desk sat a woman who looked like an older version of the Captain. A quick glance at Neptune, told Ruby that his mind was about explode. "Admiral, these are my officers and the crew members responsible for saving my life. Commander Yang Branwen, Lieutenant Coco Adel, Lieutenant Sun Wukong, Lieutenant Velvet Scarlatina, Lieutenant Ciel Soleil, Lieutenant Penny Polendina, Lieutenant Blake Belladonna, Mister Neptune Vasilias, Mister Yatsuhashi Daichi, Miss Neopolitan, Miss Ilia Amitola, and Miss Ruby Rose." the Captain introduced them. "It's good to see you again Commander Branwen and Lieutenant Belladonna. The rest of you, welcome to the Schnee Dust Cartel's Headquarters. As I'm sure you are already aware, I am Admiral Winter Schnee. Head of the SDC fleet." the Admiral addressed them. "Thank you ma'am." they all responded.

"Now, will those of you who saved Captain Schnee life, please step forward?" the Admiral asked. Lieutenant Belladonna stepped forward first, followed by Neptune and Yatsuhashi, then by Neo, and finally by Ruby and Ilia when the Captain gave them a nod. "Captain, please explain to me how each of them saved your life." the Admiral ordered. "Of course ma'am. We were making a dust delivery to Zwei Station, when Junior betrayed us. Lieutenant Belladonna sensed the impending danger and triggered the panic button on her scroll. She then put herself between myself and the assailants. Miss Neopolitan, Mister Daichi and Mister Vasilias also put themselves in that position. Miss Amitola disabled the Zwei Stations lightning, which allowed us to slip out of Juniors office. Then Miss Rose, flew a troop transport undetected into an area of the station that was not designed for vehicles. She then performed a touch and go maneuver to quickly evacuate us from the danger." the Captain explained.

"Then I believe they are deserving of recognition. Do you have any suggestions for their rewards, Captain?" the Admiral asked. "Yes ma'am. I would like to recommend that Lieutenant Belladonna be honorarily awarded the rank of Commander. Miss Neopolitan, Mister Daichi and Mister Vasilias. Be given the honorary title of Praetor. Miss Amitola be given the honorary title of Master Engineer and Miss Rose be given the title of Flight Master." said the Captain. The Admiral nodded and said "It shall be done."


	9. Chapter 9: Headquarters (Part 2)

Ruby stood in a line next to Neo, Ilia, Yatsuhashi, Neptune and Lieutenant Belladonna. The rest of the ship's officers stood off to one side observing, while Admiral Schnee stood in front of Lieutenant Belladonna. She saluted the Lieutenant and the Lieutenant saluted back. Before pinning the badge of a Commander on her uniform. She said "Blake Belladonna, for defending your Captain in a hostile situation and for years of loyal service. You have been officially awarded the honorary rank of Commander. Congratulations." and the New Commander said "Thank you ma'am."

The Admiral then stepped in front of Neptune and saluted. Getting a salute in return before saying "Neptune Vasilias, for defending your Captain in a hostile situation. You have been officially granted the title of Praetor. Congratulations." and pinning a Praetor's badge on his uniform. "Thank you ma'am." he responded.

Next, the Admiral stepped in front of Yatsuhashi and saluted. Getting a salute in return before saying "Yatsuhashi Daichi, for defending your Captain in a hostile situation. You have been officially granted the title of Praetor. Congratulations." and pinning a Praetor's badge on his uniform.

Then, the Admiral stepped in front of Neo and saluted. Getting a salute in return before saying "Neopolitan, for defending your Captain in a hostile situation. You have been officially granted the title of Praetor. Congratulations." and pinning a Praetor's badge on her uniform. Neo nodded in return.

Next, the Admiral stepped in front of Ilia and saluted. Getting a salute in return before saying "Ilia Amitola, for aiding in the escape of your Captain from a hostile situation. You have been officially granted the title of Master Engineer. Congratulations." and pinning a Master Engineer's badge on his uniform. "Thank you ma'am." she responded.

Finally, the Admiral stepped in front of Ruby and saluted. Ruby saluted back and the Admiral said "Ruby Rose, for your expert piloting ability and for evacuating your Captain from a hostile situation. You have been officially granted the title of Flight Master. Congratulations." She pinned a Flight Master's badge on to Ruby's uniform and an overwhelmed Ruby said "Thank you ma'am." while struggling to contain her excitement. Everyone present, then started applauding them for their actions and achievements.

Several minutes after the awards ceremony, the six recipients along with the Lieutenants, Commander Branwen, Captain Schnee, and Admiral Schnee. Made their way to the office of the head of the SDC, Jacques Schnee. Upon being informed of his daughter's arrival and of the heroism of her crew. He had asked to meet with them all. Ruby had thought that the Admiral's office was intimidating, but this office was on a whole other level of intimidation. The room was completely white, with suits of armor lining the walls, a large snowflake shaped chandelier hung from the ceiling, and behind the enormous white desk and the mustache bearing man in the chair hung a painting. The man was in the center of the painting, with Admiral Schnee, Captain Schnee and Whitley Schnee sat in front of him and a woman who must have been the Schnee matriarch beside him.

The man looked up as they all entered the room. "Weiss, it's good to see you again." he said. "Same to you father." the Captain replied. "Now, I've heard about Zwei Base. But that matter can wait until we see the council. I want to meet the crew of the most successful ship in the fleet, especially the ones who saved my daughter's life." the Schnee man said. "Well father, I present my officers and my saviours." the Captain said while pointing to the crew. The man rose from his chair and walked across the room to meet them. "Hello again, Commander Branwen. It's good to see you're back in fighting form." he said. In response she said "Thank you sir, I hope the tribe hasn't been causing you any trouble." He shook his head "They haven't been any trouble, your mother is a woman of her word. Our alliance is a strong as ever." he said "That's good to hear sir, especially with everything we're up against these days." Commander Branwen responded. "Indeed." he said before moving on.

"Ah, Commander Belladonna. It's nice to see you again. I must say, you look strikingly like your mother."he said. Commander Belladonna said "It's nice to see you too sir, and thank you." he smiled "So, I hear that you lead the team that saved Weiss. In which case, I must thank you. I'll admit I had my doubts when a high ranking White Fang member asked to join our ranks, but you have done more than enough to put my mind at ease." he said. "I was just doing my job sir, and thank you for trusting me. I understand why you would be concerned." Commander Belladonna replied. He nodded and said "I see you've inherited the Belladonna modesty." Commander Belladonna said "Thank you sir." and he said "Just like Kali." before moving on.

"Who might you be?" he asked Lieutenant Adel. "Lieutenant Coco Adel, at your service. Sir." she replied. "Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant. Where have I heard the name Adel before?" he asked. "My parents were Faunus rights activists. They were kidnapped and murdered by the Human Defense League. It was all over the news, so I think that may be where you heard the name. Sir." the Lieutenant explained. "Yes, that's it. My condolences. The HDL is worse than the White Fang." he said. "Thank you sir, that means a lot coming from an esteemed individual like yourself." she responded. "I like you Lieutenant Adel, it's good to have you on-board." he said before moving on.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure." he said to Lieutenant Scarlatina. "Lieutenant Velvet Scarlatina. It's an honor to meet you sir." she replied. "Thank you Lieutenant, It's an honor to meet you too." he said. "Sir, I'd like to thank you. For everything you have done for the Faunus. You are a great man." He smiled and said "That means a lot coming from a Faunus. I don't do it for the praise, but it's always nice when it comes." Lieutenant Scarlatina said "I would be a slave right now, if it weren't for the SDC. I will always be grateful for your efforts sir." He nodded "I appreciate that Lieutenant." he said before moving on again.

"You must be Lieutenant Ciel Soleil." he said. "Yes sir." the Lieutenant responded. "Your reputation precedes you Lieutenant. One of Atlas' greatest minds, defecting to the SDC. Getting you on side was one of our greatest achievements." he said. "Thank you sir, I live for the cause." she replied. "You made the right choice Lieutenant, I'm glad you were able to see Atlas for what it really is." he said to her. "I regret very little sir, but my greatest regret is ever working for that evil regime." He nodded and said "If only there were more like you, then bringing Ironwood down would be much simpler. Make no mistake, you defecting was a major blow to them. But we need more major blows, to start doing some real damage." The Lieutenant said "We will bring him down one day sir, and I will stand at your side when we do." He smiled and said "Yes we will Lieutenant, yes we will." before moving on once again.

"Lieutenant Polendina, I haven't seen you in a long time." he said. "Salutations, I have missed you sir." she replied. He smiled and said "Cheery as ever, I see." the Lieutenant nodded "Well, it is wonderful to see you sir. I very much enjoy your company." she said happily. "I wish I had the same capacity for positivity as you Lieutenant, but life has warped me into a very cynical man." he responded. "It's okay sir, you may be cynical. But you are still a brilliant man." she said. "Thank you Lieutenant, I hope we get to talk more before your next departure. It's refreshing to see you again." he replied before moving along the line.

"The Legendary Sun Wukong, Ironwood's Bane. It's an honor to meet you." he said to Lieutenant Wukong. "Nice to meet you sir. I didn't know I was legendary." the Lieutenant replied. "Lieutenant Wukong, you are the chief tactical officer on the most successful ship in the fleet. Under your supervision, the Myrtenaster has taken out more Atlas ships than any other ship in the fleet, more White Fang ships than any other ship in the fleet, more HDL ships than any other ship in the fleet. You are undoubtedly one of the greatest military minds ever, your name strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies. You are most certainly a legend." he explained. "Oh, I never really thought about that sir." the Lieutenant replied. "Is that why you've refused every offer of promotion?" the Schnee man asked. The Lieutenant shook his head "No sir. I'm just happy where I am. Under Captain Schnee's command." he said. "Well, if that's how you really feel. I won't push you into anything." the Schnee man replied. "Thank you sir. I appreciate that." the Lieutenant said. "You don't need to thank me, it is I who should be thanking you." he responded before moving on to Yatsuhashi.

"So, you're one of the people who saved my daughter. What is your name son?" he asked. "My name is Yatsuhashi Daichi sir." the Praetor replied. "Thank you, you are a credit to the SDC." he said. Yatsuhashi shook his head and said "I just did what I had to do sir, you don't need to thank me." The response was "You saved my daughter's life, there is no way that I am ignoring that. But I appreciate your modesty." Yatsuhashi nodded and said "Thank you sir, I would do it again a thousand times over." Before moving on the Schnee patriarch said "You are a hero of the SDC, I will make sure that everyone knows what you did."

"Ah, another one of my daughter's saviors. What's your name son?" he asked Neptune. Neptune said "I'm Neptune Vasilias sir." the man nodded "Well, as I said to your friend. Thank you, you are a credit to the SDC. I will make sure everyone hears of your actions." he said. Neptune nodded and said "I appreciate that sir. I want you to know that I would happily take a bullet for the Captain." Before moving on the man said "Let's hope it never comes to that son."

He looked at Neo for a moment. Seemingly stunned. "Last time I saw you, you were Roman Torchwick's bodyguard. Now you're a Praetor for saving my daughter's life. Not what I expected, but thank you." he said. Neo nodded and smiled. "Ah yes, I forgot you were mute. Neopolitan wasn't it?" he asked. Neo nodded. "Well Neopolitan. You are one of the last people I would ever expect to be indebted. But you saved Weiss and that absolves you of every slight you have committed against me in the past. Welcome to the SDC." he said before moving on to Ilia.

"Another unexpected face. One of Adam Taurus' top assassins. What's your name again?" he asked. Sir, my name is Ilia, Ilia Amitola." she said. "Tell me Ilia, how did you come to be with the SDC?" he asked. "Well sir, Adam sent me to kill Ghira and Kali Belladonna. But I was stopped by Commander Belladonna and Lieutenant Wukong. They helped me realize that Adam was wrong and they convinced me to join the SDC. To help the Faunus in a better way than the White Fang was." Ilia explained. "Interesting. You must be trustworthy if those two believe in you and since apparently you helped save Weiss." he responded. "Thank you sir, joining the SDC was the best decision I ever made."she said. He smiled and said "In that case, it's a pleasure to have you Miss Amitola." before moving on to Ruby.

"If you aren't related to Summer Rose, then I will buy a hat and eat it." He said to Ruby. She smiled at him and said "I'm Ruby Rose sir, Summer Rose was my mother." He smiled "You look just like her, but I was unaware she had any children." he said. Ruby nodded "I think that is mainly down to my father, sir." she said. "Who is your father?" he asked her. "Taiyang Xiao Long sir." Ruby replied. His eyes widened "Wait, that would make you Commander Branwen's half sister." he said. "Yes sir" she responded. "Miss Rose, how did you end up on the Myrtenaster?" he asked. "Well, I was piloting a dust freighter, and it was raided. That's when I first met Yang, and when we found out that we were related. I agreed to join the crew. You see, sir. My father always told me that Yang was dead, when in reality she was just living with her mother and Yang was only aware of my existence because my mother revealed my existence to her mother. With her dying breaths. It was a sheer coincidence that we ever met." Ruby explained. He nodded "Well, that's an incredible story. How are you liking the SDC?" he asked. Ruby smiled "I've been a part of the SDC for just over a week, and I can honestly say that it is the best thing that has ever happened to me." she said. He smiled "Well, that's great to hear. It's also impressive that after only a week, you saved my daughter's life. So, thank you Miss Rose. Your mother would be proud." he said. "Thank you sir, thank you so much." Ruby replied.

Jacques took a step back from everyone and he became deadly serious. He said "Well, I'd love to stay and talk with you all. But I believe we need to discuss the events at Zwei Station, with the council. If Junior betrayed us, then this is serious. Please accompany me to the council chamber."


	10. Chapter 10: Headquarters (Part 3)

Captain Weiss Schnee and her most trusted crew members, stood behind her father in the SDC council chamber. The council chamber was a large white room, with a tall ceiling and a large round table with a snowflake carved into it. Around the table sat the highest ranking officials of the SDC.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the council. I'm sure that you have all heard about the destruction of Zwei Station, well now I have my daughter and her crew here. We can discuss the incident and the new information that has come to light." Jacques Schnee said.

One of the council members said "That daughter of yours should be shot for destroying that station." In response, Jacques pulled a gun and shot the man. "I will not tolerate speech like that." he said cooly before putting the gun away. "Now, the decision to destroy the station was not taken lightly. But it had been compromised and was under enemy control." Jacques continued.

"What happened to Junior? he should have stopped any hostile takeovers." said another council member. Jacques sighed "Well, from what I've heard. Junior was the hostile. He tried to kill my daughter." he said. The council members were shocked by his response. "Why would he do that?" one of them asked. "Someone paid him to turn on us. I think it would be better if I let the one who was there, explain the rest." Jacques said as he turned to his youngest daughter.

Weiss stepped forward "Ladies and gentlemen of the council. I hope you understand, that destroying Zwei Station was not a decision I took lightly. But it had to be done. Now, Junior tried to kill me when I was in his office during a delivery. If it hadn't been for the actions, of my security detail he would have been successful. Fortunately, before making our escape and firing on the station. I managed to get Junior to tell me who paid him off. He said her name was Cinder Fall." Weiss explained.

"Do you know anything about this, Cinder Fall?" asked a council member. Weiss shook her head "I'm afraid all Junior was willing to give us was her name. But given what happened, I think we can safely assume that we can counter as one of our many enemies." she said.

"Junior must have been certain you were going to die, if he was willing to reveal that information to you. So, how did you get from Junior about to kill you, to blowing up the station he was on?" asked one of the council members. "Well, Commander Belladonna here, caught on to what was happening. Just before Junior turned, so she was able to trigger the panic button on her scroll and defend me. Master Engineer Amitola caused a distraction, which allowed us to get out of Junior's office, and Flight Master Rose evacuated us from the station. My ship had already moved to a safe distance from the station, and when I was back on board. We opened fire." Weiss responded.

One of the council members went to speak, but they were interrupted. The room shook violently and alarms started blaring. "We're under attack!" Jacques shouted. A moment later a member of security personnel came running in "A White Fang fleet just launched a surprise attack." he said. "Can we send out the fleet?" Admiral Schnee asked. "I'm afraid not ma'am, they are focusing on the blast door. If we open it, the ships would be destroyed before they could leave the station." he answered. "Then, we're sitting ducks until we can get assistance." the Admiral said.

A few minutes later, the council were standing around a tactical map of the battle. They were in a heavily fortified safe room, deep within the vast station. "Our defense fighters are getting annihilated, and our point defenses are overwhelmed. We won't hold out much longer at this rate." the Admiral said. Weiss inspected the scene, she noted that the fleet's flagship seemed to be doing most of the work. It was no ordinary flagship, it was Adam Taurus' personal ship. She knew that of they could take him and his ship down. Then the fleet would break and the attack would fail. "If we can take down that ship, then we can turn the table." Weiss said, as she pointed at Adam's ship.

Everyone turned to her "How do you expect to do that? The fleet is trapped inside and none of our small craft have even made it close to that ship." her older sister asked. "Do you have any spare troop transports?" Weiss asked. "Yes, but why? Going out there is suicide. Even if you made it over there, you would be destroyed if you tried to dock." Admiral Schnee responded.

A smile crept across Weiss face, she had a plan. "I wasn't planning on docking." she said as she pointed at one of the ship's hangars. The Admiral shook her head "You think you can fly a troop transport inside, and take the ship down from there." she said. "I may not be able to fly in, but I know someone who can." Weiss said as she turned to Ruby. "Are you really willing to sacrifice your crew members, in some idiotic attempt at heroism?" the Admiral asked worriedly. "It's not idiotic, if it'll work. Trust me, Ruby is the best pilot in the SDC." Weiss retorted. The Admiral sighed "Fine, but you can send in your own ground troops, I'm not letting you sacrifice anyone else." she said.

Weiss smiled "Tell me, does this troop transport have any gun turrets?" she asked the Admiral. "Yes, it does. Not like it'll help you much when you get blown to pieces." the Admiral replied. "That may be true for someone else. But Neopolitan doesn't miss and Ruby doesn't get hit." Weiss quipped. "You can't seriously be that overconfident, you're insane Weiss." the Admiral hit back. "I'm deadly serious. I had Ruby, Ilia and Neopolitan carry out a bombing mission not so long ago. They took down three Nevermores, a few hundred Lancers, a Queen Lancer, and then an entire Grimm hive. If anything, you should be overconfident too." Weiss said.

"Please tell me you aren't going over there with them, I'm not letting you kill yourself over this." the Admiral said. "Don't worry, I won't be going over there. Ruby will fly, Neopolitan will be the gunner, my Commanders can lead the attack, and I'll send over my best fighters. They will be able to infiltrate the ship, take control of it, and capture Adam Taurus." Weiss replied confidently.

Sighing the Admiral said "I think they're going to get slaughtered, but we don't seem to have much choice. We can't hold out forever under this bombardment, if this fails then there may not be an SDC Headquarters by the time help arrives." Weiss put her hand on the Admiral's shoulder and said "As you're most successful Captain and as your sister. I promise you that this will work."

Soon, Weiss was standing in a small hangar. She watched as her best people, prepared for what may be their last mission. They were all wearing full combat armor, and were more heavily armed than usual. Neopolitan was sitting in the ball turret on top of the transport, familiarizing herself with it. Ilia who had asked to go along, because of her knowledge of the ship. Was pacing across the hangar, waiting for everyone to climb aboard. Ruby, was sitting in the cockpit. Most pilots would be terrified of what they were about to go through, but Ruby sat there calmly. Making sure she was ready to fly the transport. The two Commanders were having a quiet conversation, but it sounded like Commander Branwen wanted to kill Adam and Commander Belladonna was trying to convince her that he needed to be captured. Yatsuhashi was meditating and Neptune looked nervous but was trying to hide it. The rest of the ground troops were just mentally preparing themselves for what was to come, they had raided many ships in their time. But this was no ordinary ship and no ordinary raid.

When the Commanders finished their conversation, Commander Branwen said "Alright, it's time to go. Everybody mount up." They all climbed aboard and as the doors started to close, Weiss shouted "Go get him!" she saw them all salute in return just before the doors sealed. The transport lifted off, and flew down the hangar to the station's secret exit. As it disappeared from view and she made her way back to the safe room. Weiss said to herself "I hope I was right."


	11. Chapter 11: Flight Master Rose

As soon Ruby reached the outside, she was greeted by a scene of absolute chaos. There were several large White Fang ships firing on the station, and there were fighters all over the place. The Red and White fighters of the White Fang, were chasing down the Blue and White fighters of the SDC.

Ruby spotted the hangar that she was aiming for and went for it. Immediately, a trio of fighters came at her head on. She fired the nose mounted guns at them, it ripped through the cockpit of the lead fighter. The pilot died instantly, and a second later the fighter exploded. That still left two fighters, still attacking them. But they weren't a threat for long thanks to a certain gunner. Neo opened fire on the first fighter, the rounds went through the nose of the fighter and must have hit the pilot because the fighter nosed down and away from them. The last fighter pilot saw this, and tried to turn away. Only for Neo to fire through the side of his canopy and decapitate him in his seat. "Nice shooting Neo" Ruby said into the headset she was wearing.

An out of control SDC fighter came barreling towards the transport, so Ruby quickly pulled up and it went just under them. There was a fighter pursuing, the out of control one. So Neo blew one of its wings off, the fighter started to spin as the engines were on the wings. Neo could have hit it again, but she enjoyed seeing the fighter spinning so violently.

Two more fighters appeared behind them, so Neo started firing backwards. They dropped down out of the way, to make it harder for her to hit them. Ruby caught on to this, so she rolled the transport over. The first pilot didn't have time to react before Neo tore him to pieces, the second pulled up again. Only for Ruby to roll over again, giving Neo another shot, the pilot pulled to the side. So, Neo fired into the bottom of the craft. Turning it from fighter to a fireball in the blink of an eye.

Ruby then found herself tailing a group of three fighters, that hadn't noticed her presence. She fired at one of the, the rounds catching it in the engines. It instantly exploded, the debris taking out the two other fighters. "That's what you get!" she shouted at them. When she did, another two fighters flew up in front of her. She fired into the top of one of the fighter, killing the pilot. Neo did the same to the other pilot.

They were now getting very close to the hangar. The ship's point defenses started firing on them. Ruby did a barrel roll to dodge the first volley and started flying away from the ship. The weapons were protected by one way shielding so they couldn't be damaged. "I'm gonna need to be fast if I want to get in there. If I'm not, we'll be torn to shreds." she said as she flew out of range. It was then that she noticed one fighter coming at her head on and another approaching from behind. She smiled "That's going to hurt." she said before dodging at the last second. The two fighters had opened fire, only to miss the transport and hit each other. Before, they could maneuver, they slammed head on into each other.

Ruby turned back and lined herself up with the hangar. As she started her approach two fighters, emerged through the hangar's atmospheric shield. One of them hadn't fully exited the ship when Neo fired on it, the ensuing fireball filled the hangar. Most likely killing some of the crew. The other fighter made it out, but Ruby lit it up. It tried to dodge but it was too close to the ship and ended up crashing into it and exploding. Ruby laughed "What an embarrassing way to go." she said as she throttled up.

A final fighter exited the hangar, as Ruby came tearing towards it at high speed. The pilot spotted her and was about to fire. When an SDC fighter, crashed into it from above. "Poor guy" she said to herself just before they passed through the atmospheric shield and entered the hangar.

To avoid flying straight out the other side, Ruby activated the transports inertial dampeners to rapidly decelerate. The crew and pilots in the hangar, stared in awe for a second. Until, Ruby started spinning the craft around and opening fire on all the people and craft in the hangar. Neo joined in, mopping up any stragglers that Ruby left. They quickly destroyed all the vehicles in the room, and the survivors ran for the exits. Unfortunately for them, the transport fired into their backs as they ran. Blocking the exits, and trapping a few unfortunate Faunus in the corpse filled hangar.

Ruby finally stopped spinning and put the transport down in the center of the hangar. "I think the survivors want to surrender Neo, so hold fire unless they try something." she said. She was right, the survivors came out with their hands raises, as the transports rear doors opened and heavily armed soldier poured out.

Ruby had done her part, now it was time for the other to go to work.


	12. Chapter 12: A Killing Blow

As the doors of the transport opened. Yang had half expected to be back in the hangar they took off from, Ruby having aborted the mission. But no, they were in the hangar of a White Fang ship. As she and Blake lead the troops out of the transport, they were expecting to encounter at least some resistance. Fortunately, that was not the case as Ruby and Neo had taken care of things. There were burning wrecks that had recently been spacecraft, badly maimed corpses strewn across the floor, and a few terrified White Fang members with their arms raised in surrender. "Well, this makes things easier." she said. "The fact we made it here, makes things a lot easier. This is just a bonus." Blake responded.

"Alright, let's move. We need to get to the bridge as soon as possible. Adam Taurus will not be getting away this time." Yang ordered. "This way." Ilia said as she guided them out of the hangar. Not long after they exited the hangar, they were moving down a corridor when Blake said "Get, they're coming." they all stopped and got into firing positions, ready to take down anyone that came their way.

Seconds later, six White Fang members entered the corridor from the other end. They spotted the intruders and opened fire. Unfortunately for them, they were no match for an elite raiding party. The first three, were dropped by headshots before they could get off more than a couple of shots. So, the remaining three pulled back and took cover. Yang lead the raiding party down the corridor. As, one of the White Fang members attempted to blind fire, Yang shot him in the hand. Making him drop the gun and start screaming in pain at the loss of a few fingers. "That's what you get for blind firing." she taunted them. When she did, another White Fang member moved from behind cover. He tried to take aim at her, but she shot him twice in the chest before he could get a shot off. Yang laughed "One more to go" she said as she walked through the door at the end of the corridor. With her prosthetic she grabbed the uninjured White Fang member by the throat. While she used her other arm to put the injured man out of his misery, with a single shot to the head. The man she was holding by the throat, wasn't so lucky. She just squeezed until he stopped struggling.

The group continued to move towards the bridge. A Wolf Faunus came running out of a side room to attack them, but Blake quickly reacted. She drove her knife into his neck and twisted. He was dead before he hit the ground. "Nice job." Yang complimented. Before a female Wolf Faunus came at them shouting "You killed my brother." Blake tackled her, climbed on top of her and slit her throat. The second Wolf Faunus was quickly followed by another three White Fang member, but they were pumped full of bullets by the raiders. Yang laughed "Do they even train these guys?" she asked. "Apparently not." Blake replied.

"Traitor!" shouted a Chameleon Faunus, as he appeared from the shadows. He ran at Ilia with a knife, but she dodge. Before he could turn around she kicked him in the back of the leg. He dropped to his knees, and with all the force she could muster. She took hold of his head and snapped his neck. "Seriously, they're just throwing themselves at us." Yang said once Ilia had taken care of her attacker.

The raiding party entered yet another corridor, but this time there were barricades. There were a few White Fang members holed up behind the. One of them peaked over, only to have the top of his head taken off by a shot from Neptune. "The Captain would be proud." Yang joked when she realized who had fired. "Really, you're making jokes now." responded a slightly annoyed Neptune. "Yeah, I'm not going to get serious until we reach Adam. Them I'm going to relieve him of an arm before we bring him in." Yang replied before shooting another Bear Faunus in the head. They made quick work of the remaining hostiles in the corridor, or so they thought. A Mouse Faunus had been playing dead, she lunged at Blake. Who slashed her throat before she even registered that Blake had a knife. "The training must have really gone downhill since I left, this is like shooting fish in a barrel." she said as she cleaned the blood from her knife. "More like shooting Faunus in a spaceship." Yang joked.

"We're almost there." Ilia said as they entered a room, with barricades cutting across it. "You aren't going any further!" someone shouted from behind the barricade. "I strongly disagree!" Yang shouted back. "You'll have to go through me!" he responded. "I intend to!" she shouted back. A huge Ram Faunus, jumped over the barricade and charged Yang. She punched him with her prosthetic, so hard that he flew back against the barricade and knocked it over. "Leave him to me, kill the rest." Yang ordered. The other White Fang members were quickly disposed of, but Yang was going to have fun with the big guy. "She grabbed him by the horns and pulled him to his feet, causing him to yell out in pain. "I'm going to kill you" he said to her. "Correction, I will be doing the killing." Yang said happily. As she threw him face first, to the ground. He tried to push himself up, but she kicked him in the face. He now lay on his back, having been rolled by the force of the kick. She took this opportunity to shoot him in the knees, making him scream in agony. "You still up for a fight big boy?" she asked him. He tried to roll over and push himself up, she kicked him in the face again "I'll take that as a no." She said before shooting him in the head.

Yang caught up with the raiding party, they were pinned down in a doorway. "What have we got?" she asked. "Machine Gun turret." Blake replied. "I'll be right back." Yang said as she ran to get the Ram Faunus' body." she picked him up and ran back to the others. "Follow me!" she shouted as she sprinted into the room using the body as a shield. She didn't stop until she'd sent the turret and it's operator flying. The others followed her in and shot the Rabbit Faunus that had been holding them at bay.

"Just a couple more rooms and we're there." Ilia said as they moved to the door at the far side of the room. "I'm going to kill you! All of you!" someone shouted from the next room. "I'm sure you'll try your best!" Yang shouted back. The next room didn't have any barricades, instead it had an angry looking Scorpion Faunus. He was holding a grenade. "Are you sure, you should be handling explosives?" Yang asked. In response he pulled the pin and prepared to throw it. But he was too slow. Yang shot him in the wrist, tearing his hand off and making the grenade fall at his feet. He didn't have time to notice his missing hand, as the grenade went off at his feet. "I'm glad I don't have to clean that up." Yang said as she lead the group into a now red tinted room.

"One more room and we reach the bridge." Ilia told them. "Are they seriously doing that again?" Yang said as she looked into the final room and saw another White Fang member with a grenade. "Hey, your buddy here already made that mistake!" Yang shouted at the Cat Faunus. "I don't intend to survive!" He shouted as he pulled the pin and ran at them. Yang sighed before shooting the grenade, making him vanish in a ball of fire. "Can't say I didn't warn you." she said as the raiding party reached the door to the bridge.

The door to the bridge had been sealed to keep them out, not that it would last long. "Any suggestions, before I punch my way in?" Yang asked. She already knew how they were going to get through, thanks to a plan they had hatched on the flight over. "I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere, I can't let you hurt Adam. That's why I poisoned you all before we left. It should be kicking in about now" Ilia said. With the exception of Yang, everyone acted like they were slowly dying. "Except you, I believe Adam has some unfinished business with you." Ilia said to Yang as she wrapped her arm around her neck and held a gun to her head

A few moments later the door opened and out walked a smiling Adam. He said "Ilia, you came ba…" His speech was cut short as he was shot in the knees. He dropped the floor groaning in pain, and in seconds. He had been pinned down and his weapons were taken from him. While he was held down, part of the raiding party entered and secured the bridge. "I would never come back to you." Ilia said to him. Adam spat at her "I'm going to skin you alive." he snarled. Yang shook her head "How are you going to do that with one arm." she said as she picked his sword and brought it down on his arm. Severing it. Adam screamed in agony. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" Yang said sarcastically. "Just get on with it, Kill me!" he shouted. Yang smiled and said "As much as I would love to cave your skull in, we have something much better planned for you. We're going to take down the rest of your fleet with this ship, then were going to take you over to that lovely place you were just attacking, and we're going to torture you for every last bit of information you have. Then I'll just torture you for fun, I might kill you eventually. But we're going to have a lot of fun together first." he didn't respond, he just stared up at her. This was something that nobody had ever seen before, Adam Taurus was scared. "Someone, do something about his arm. We don't want him bleeding to death just yet." she said as she walked onto the bridge.

Now standing on the bridge, Yang gave an order "Open fire on the rest of the fleet. Within minutes, anti ship missiles and the ships main guns had annihilated the White Fang fleet. The other ships had been caught completely off guard, they hadn't stood a chance.

Once that was done, Yang found the microphone for the ship's intercom system. "This is Commander Yang Branwen of the Schnee Dust Cartel. We have taken control of your ship, destroyed your fleet, and captured your leader. So, you have a choice. You can either surrender and live. Or, you can hold out and die. We have control of this ship's life support, and we will shut it down and let you suffer horrific deaths. Unless you cooperate fully. We are about to dock, so you have ten minutes to report to the main docking port. Any resistance will result in a swift and violent end, so don't try anything." she said as they came in to dock.

Yang was overjoyed. Not only had they successfully landed in the hangar of an enemy ship, taken it over, and saved the SDC. They had also captured Adam Taurus, possibly striking a killing blow to the White Fang.


	13. Chapter 13: Revelations

A week after the attack on the Schnee Dust Cartel's Headquarters. The Myrtenaster was part of the escort fleet for Admiral Schnee's Flagship, the Ice Queen. On a diplomatic mission, to meet with the leaders of the Branwen Tribe, the Huntsman Alliance, the Vacuo System, and the Menagerie System. The escort fleet was comprised of the Myrtenaster, the Glyph, the Arma Gigas, and the Snow Angel. Captain Schnee was in command of the Myrtenaster, Captain Ni was in command of the Glyph, Captain Altan was in command of the Arma Gigas, and Captain Violette was in command of the Snow Angel.

They were on their way to a meeting point in Neutral Space. Admiral Schnee was to meet with Raven Branwen's adopted daughter Vernal Branwen, General Port of the Huntsman Alliance, General Rodentia of Menagerie, and General Alistair of Vacuo. The meeting was to discuss the information provided by Adam Taurus.

Ruby, Neo and Ilia were all on the bridge, as they were in rotation with other members of the bridge crew. Ruby was piloting, Neo was operating the main guns, and Ilia was monitoring the ships engines. A large gathering of ships appeared in the distance and Lieutenant Polendina said "This is the meeting place, throttle down when the Ice Queen does. Miss Rose." Ruby nodded "Yes ma'am." she replied. Ruby brought the ship to a halt as the rest of the fleet did the same.

"Looks like were the last ones here, and they aren't fighting each other. Let's hope for their sake that this doesn't break down." the Captain said. "Ma'am, should we get Lieutenant Wukong in case things go wrong." Lieutenant Polendina asked. "Don't worry Lieutenant, he is on standby. But we shouldn't need him." the Captain replied.

Transports from the other four Flagships, approached the Ice Queen. "The Branwen's won't start anything with us, since we have Commander Branwen. Menagerie won't start anything either, since we have Commander Belladonna, and the Huntsmen are neutral so they won't start anything with anyone. Vacuo probably won't do anything either, since they're outnumbered. So I doubt we'll have any trouble." the Captain continued. "That's a relief ma'am, it's nice to have a break from fighting for once." Lieutenant Polendina responded.

An hour later, Lieutenant Adel said "Ma'am, the Ice Queen is hailing us". The Captain nodded, put them through. The Admiral appeared on the Captain's screen. "Yes Admiral?" she asked. "They would like to see you, Branwen, Belladonna, Amitola, Neopolitan and Rose. Please send them over." the Admiral replied. "One moment please Admiral, I'll have to swap out my bridge crew and I'll be right over. Anything else?" the Captain said. "That is all, see you soon." the Admiral responded before ending the communication. Captain Schnee sighed "Lieutenant Polendina, get Wukong in here. The two of you will be taking over while I go over to the Ice Queen." she ordered. "Yes ma'am." replied the Lieutenant. "Rose, Neopolitan, Amitola. With me." she said as she walked off the bridge.

Ruby and her girlfriends followed the Captain off the bridge. Passing their replacements on the way out. "I swear if this is more of us being called heroes. I'm going freelance." Ilia said. "Don't go leaving without us." Ruby replied.

A few minutes later, Ruby was flying a transport over to the flagship. "I like piloting the Myrtenaster, but this is so much more fun." she said to herself, as she approached the hangar. She landed next to the transports from the other ships. "Those are some fancy looking craft, not as cool is this baby though." she said before climbing out.

When she joined up with the others, the Captain said. "You know, you didn't have to fly. We have plenty of other pilots and you're a guest on this ship." Ruby smiled "I wanted to ma'am. I love flying." she replied. A member of the crew walked over to them "Welcome aboard Captain Schnee. Please follow me." he said. As they started to follow him, Commander Branwen said "We haven't been here in a while, Captain." the Captain nodded "Not since the three of us first met." she said. "I hadn't realized it was the Ice Queen, that was chasing that slaver." Commander Belladonna said. "Yeah, this was the ship. Honestly, I prefer the Myrtenaster." the Captain replied.

They soon arrived in the ships meeting room. It was much larger and more luxurious than the one on the Myrtenaster. Though, to be fair. This ship was used for diplomatic meetings, and the Myrtenaster wasn't. Around the table sat Admiral Schnee, a large older man with white hair and a mustache, a young woman with short dark hair, a young man with a scar running over his eye and the side of his head, and another young man with dark skin, copper hair and some kind of visor covering his eyes.

"I would like to introduce Captain Weiss Schnee, Commander Yang Branwen, Commander Blake Belladonna, Praetor Neopolitan, Master Engineer Ilia Amitola, and Flight Master Ruby Rose." the Admiral said as they entered the room. The group all nodded as a silent greeting to the envoys. Then the Admiral introduced the envoys "These are my guests General Peter Port, Vernal Branwen, General Saber Rodentia, and General Fox Alistair." the envoys returned the greeting.

"Hello Yang, it's been a while." Vernal said "Hey Vernal, it's good to see you." the Commander replied. "I see you found your sister" Vernal said pointing to Ruby. "Yeah I did, but your my sister too. You guys should get to know each other." Commander Branwen responded. This was a surprise to Ruby, she didn't know Yang had another sister. "Hello Ruby, I'm Yang's adopted sister." Vernal said. "Hi. It's nice to meet you." Ruby replied. "Likewise." Vernal responded.

"It's nice to see you, Commander Belladonna. Your parents will be pleased to know, you're doing well." Saber said. "Thank you General, it's nice to see you too." she responded. Saber looked at Ilia "You seem to be doing well for yourself too, letting you go was a good choice." he said. "Yes I am, thank you again for that." Ilia replied.

"Not to be rude Admiral, but is this why we're here?" Captain Schnee asked. "No, you're actually all here because of your connections to Adam and Cinder Fall." Admiral Schnee replied. "In that case, why aren't the rest of raiding party here?" the Captain asked. "There is more to it than that, the six of you are more connected than you realize." the Admiral responded. "Alright, shall we proceed then?" the Captain asked. "We shall." said the Admiral.

The Admiral addressed everyone. "Now that I have you all here, there are some things we need to discuss." They all turned to her and she continued. " We know that Junior was paid off by Cinder, to weaken the SDC. Thanks to Adam Taurus, we now know a lot more about the illusive Cinder Fall. We found that Roman Torchwick had been stealing dust and Atlas' military equipment for her before he died. Which is why we have Neopolitan here, she may be able to shed some light on Torchwick's actions prior to his death. Anyway, Adam told us that he was forced into working with her after she slaughtered a lot of his men and threatened to kill him, it was Cinder who made him attack the SDC Headquarters. In retaliation for Junior's death. It would seem that Adam had been working with her for years, which is why we have the two former White Fang members here. So far that is all he has given us." she finished.

"That explains why everyone else is here, but what about me and Ruby?" Commander Branwen asked. Vernal answered "Well, you see Yang. Cinder sent a couple of her people to us. When we refused to cooperate, they tried to attack us. Raven and Qrow chased them off, but now we're awaiting her retaliation. So, as a Branwen. This involves you." Yang nodded and said "Alright, I get it now. But that doesn't explain Ruby's involvement. She's not a Branwen and she's got nothing to do with Adam, Junior or Torchwick."

General Port spoke at this point. "Commander Branwen, those people have nothing to do with why Ruby is involved. You see, Ozpin the former leader of the Huntsman Alliance. Encountered Cinder Fall, and ended up dead. But before he died, he revealed something that Cinder had told him. She said, that the Grimm were on her side and she could use them as a weapon. Before, I go any further there are some things I have to bring up. Summer Rose was a Huntress, the most powerful to have ever lived. Summer wasn't just a skilled, she had special powers. Ancient powers that ran in her bloodline. Nothing could stop her when she used those powers, but they put a great strain on her body. So, she only used them in the most desperate of situations. Anyway, She believed that someone was controlling the Grimm, so she made it her mission to find this person. As Cinder revealed to Ozpin, Summer got to close. Cinder sent everything she could at Summer, so Summer used her powers. Unfortunately, it was a trap. Once Summer was drained of her energy, Cinder sent a Death Stalker after her. Summer was mortally wounded so Cinder called the attack off and went to finish the job herself, but Raven Branwen got there first. That's when she found out that Summer had a daughter, which ruined her plan. If Summer had died without an heir, then the last person she was thinking about would have inherited the powers."

Ruby was overwhelmed by the information "What?!" she shouted. Port sighed and said "Ruby, you have your mother's powers, and because of that. Cinder Fall wants you dead."


	14. Chapter 14: The Enemy Within

**Hello everyone, I've finally decided to say something. Anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I hope it's at least somewhat interesting. I know I'm enjoying writing it, everyday I try to write at least one chapter. I was fairly certain that people wouldn't like this, considering the plot is completely sporadic and I don't really know how things will progress beyond the next couple of chapters. I'm going to stop rambling now and let you get back to the story. See ya.**

* * *

"Ma'am, we have a broadcast from headquarters. It's not good." A crew member said as they ran into the room. "This better be important." Admiral Schnee responded. "It's very serious ma'am. I can play it for you now." he said. The Admiral sighed "Go ahead." she said. The crew member pulled out a scroll and started playing the broadcast. "We…under attack...Jacques Schnee...dead. Whitley betrayed us...Taurus escaped..." once he played the recording the crew member said "That's all we got, and we haven't been able to contact them again."

Everyone in the room was shocked by the recording. The Admiral broke the silence "Then we must return immediately, before this gets any worse." But once she spoke a male voice from outside the room said "I'm afraid it's far too late for that. Thanks to your brother." before a silver haired man and a green haired woman entered the room. "Who are you?!" the Admiral demanded. "Doesn't matter, all you need to know is that Cinder thanks you for delivering Ruby to us." he responded.

Everyone went for their weapons. "She isn't going anywhere!" the Admiral shouted at him. He smiled "You can't stop us. This ship is under our control, and Cinder's fleet will deal with the rest. Don't worry, you'll be dead too once we have her." he said. Commander Branwen slammed her fist into the side of his head, sending him flying across the room.

He landed at the Admiral's feet and she pointed her Saber at him. But before she could, deal with him. The green haired accomplice shot her in the chest. "Winter!" Captain Schnee screamed as she tackled the woman to the ground. The silver haired man got to his feet, only for General Port to tackle him into the wall.

Captain Schnee and the green haired woman rolled around on the floor, punching, kicking and headbutting each other. Commander Branwen picked the Captain's assailant up and threw her onto the table. Where Generals Rodentia and Alistair pinned her down. "Blake, get Ruby back to the transport!" the Commander shouted. Commander Belladonna made her way to the door, keeping Ruby behind her. But the crew member from earlier blocked them. "You aren't taking her anywhere" he said menacingly as he drew his sidearm. Commander Belladonna responded by grabbing his arm and breaking it. Before following through with a knife threw his armpit. Quickly silencing his screams of pain as his lung collapsed.

General Port was wrestling with the silver haired man, and Vernal ran over to assist. Before she reached them. Port's assailant pulled a concealed blade from his sleeve and stabbed the man in the chest. But Port didn't let the matter of being stabbed stop him, he held on until Vernal could deliver a kick to the man's head. "Don't let them get her." Port said with his dying breaths.

More crew member ran in, preventing Ruby's escape. Commander Belladonna, Neo and Ilia engaged with them. One man threw a punch at the Commander, so she grabbed his wrist and slashed his arm open. Then she used him as a battering ram to take down another two crew members. Neo was shooting them in the legs as they entered the room, and Ilia was finishing them off with headshots when the hit the floor.

Meanwhile, the green haired girl managed to slip out of General Alistair's grip and kicked his visor off. She used her newly free hand to grab General Rodentia's holstered sidearm and empty a whole clip into him. As she scrambled to get of the table, Commander Branwen grabbed her by the ankle and dragged her to the edge. The Commander then grabbed her by the neck with one hand and punching her with the other.

Vernal was locked in a fight with the silver haired man. He had left his knife in Port's chest and Vernal was slashing at him with her own knife. But he kept dodging her blows. "Your persistent I'll give you that." he said before sweeping her legs out. He climbed on top of her and started strangling her, not realizing she hadn't dropped her weapons. She plunge her knife into his side and headbutted him in the face.

A crew member who got passed Commander Belladonna tackled Commander Branwen, pushing her off the green haired girl. The crew member tried to pin Commander Branwen down. But a now armed Ruby, shot her in the back before being grabbed by the green haired woman. Captain Schnee saw this, and used her own sidearm. Shooting the woman in the ankle, making her let go of Ruby and fall to the ground. "Belladonna, get her out of here!" she shouted as she pulled Ruby away from the woman.

Commander Belladonna led Ruby and the two other girls down the corridor. Fighting all the way. One crew member tried to shoot her, but the gun was blown out of his hand by Neo. Who swiftly blew his head off. Then, someone else tried to shoot the Commander, only for Ilia to shoot him in the eye. The Commander was now wielding both a knife and a gun, shooting anyone in their way and slashing at anyone who got too close.

Back in the room, the green haired girl was limping but managing to fight off Commander Branwen and Captain Schnee. Expertly dodging every blow, and every shot that they sent her way. Vernal and the silver haired man were still fighting, he was holding his side with one hand and fighting with his other limbs. He went at her with a high kick, but she caught his leg and flipped him over. General Alistair had found his visor and was back in the fight, he pinned the silver haired one as soon as he hit the ground. But the man managed to knee him in the side, winding him. Before Vernal could intervene, the man had grabbed a gun and shot the winded General in the head.

"Captain, get out of here. Vernal and I will hold them off. But, Ruby will need your help!" Commander Branwen shouted. "I'm not leaving you to die!" the Captain snapped back. The green haired woman laughed and said "Your all going to die." The woman was distracted for a second when she spoke. So, the Commander took that opportunity, to punch her in the stomach. She hit the ground and curled up, cradling her stomach with both hands. "Time to go Captain, I'll be right behind you." the Commander said. Captain Schnee nodded and followed Commander Belladonna's trail of destruction.

The silver haired man had his gun trained on Vernal, but as he went to pull the trigger. A single shot rang out, and the gun vanished along with his hand. On the floor close by, Admiral Schnee lay there with a sidearm in her hand. "Vernal, get everyone out of here." she said before her eyes closed and her arm dropped. The one handed man, was on his knees. Staring at his severed limb. Vernal kicked him in the head, knocking him out cold. "We need to go Yang" she said to Commander Branwen as she left the room. The Commander followed her out. "Tell Cinder that I'll do the same to anyone who comes after Ruby." she said to the two injured attackers.

Meanwhile, Commander Belladonna, Ruby, Neo, Ilia and Captain Schnee stood in the hangar. The floor was strewn with the corpses of the envoys' security teams. Through the atmospheric shield, they could see a space battle taking place around them. A large fleet of ships, that they didn't recognize, were fighting the ships of the Branwen Tribe, the Huntsman Alliance, the Menagerie System, the Vacuo system, and the SDC.

The heavily outnumbered allied fleet was being torn apart by the attackers, even the Myrtenaster under Lieutenant Wukong's control was taking a beating. "We need to get back on board and out of here soon, the Myrtenaster can't take much more of this. Even with Wukong, it's not indestructible." the Captain said. "I can get us there." Ruby replied. "It's a dangerous trip." Commander Belladonna said. "Yeah, but they can't risk killing me. If this thing about me having powers is true. Then it has to be Cinder that kills me, if I just die randomly they would have no control over who gets the power." Ruby retorted. "But they won't know it's you, they'll just see a transport." the Commander explained. Captain Schnee sighed "We don't have much choice, this ship is under enemy control. We can't stay."

The two Branwen's joined the others in the hangar "Those two are down for the count, but we really need to go!" the Commander shouted. Ruby sighed heavily "Whatever happens, I'm going to be on a transport. So, I may as well be the pilot. If anyone can fly safely through this, it's me. Plus if I die, as long as I'm thinking of someone else, Cinder's plan fails." she said. "We won't let you die Ruby." Ilia said as she placed her hand on her shoulder, swiftly followed by Neo.

Minutes later, Ruby was in the cockpit making the flight back to the Myrtenaster. She was trying to contact them "Come in Myrtenaster, this is Ruby Rose. Come in Myrtenaster,this is Ruby Rose." Lieutenant Adel answered "This is Lieutenant Adel, go ahead Ruby." Ruby responded immediately "We're coming in hot, you need to jump to hyperspace as soon as we're on board. No time to explain, but we need to get out of here." The Lieutenant took a moment to reply "Ruby, Lieutenant Wukong is ready to give the order. Please get here fast, we can't hold out much longer."

The transport, tore through the atmospheric shield at insane speed. Sliding across the hangar, as Ruby slammed it into the ground. "We're in. Go, go, go!" she shouted before they had even come to a stop. Ruby watched through the shield, waiting for the ship to jump. Within a second, the Ice Queen and the battle disappeared from view. Replaced by the elongated stars of hyperspace.

* * *

 **I figured that everything had been going far too well for the girls, something had to change. I couldn't justify calling it an epic if everything went swimmingly, and no good sci-fi adventure shy's away from killing off a couple of characters. Also, I couldn't just go all Darth Maul on Adam, don't want a great villain "dying" right after their introduction. See you next time.**


	15. Chapter 15: The Next Step

**Just a short chapter for today. Setting up the next part of the story and shedding a little more light on what was going on outside of the Ice Queen. Tomorrow's chapter will start ramping things up again. I had intended to knock out the next chapter today, but I was unexpectedly busy. Anyway, I hope this chapter isn't too disappointing.**

* * *

"What am I going to do now? Dad's dead, Winter's dead, Whitley's a traitor and for all I know the SDC is gone." asked a tearful Captain Schnee, as she sat in the back of a troop transport with the survivors of the incident on the Ice Queen. "We can't go back to HQ anymore, that would be suicide. We could go to Menagerie, or Vacuo. Their governments may protect us." Commander Belladonna replied. "For all we know, Cinder has already infiltrated them. Even if she hasn't, they may just kill us and hand Ruby over to protect themselves." the Captain retorted. "Couldn't we go to the Huntsmen? We could find out more about my power." Ruby asked as she joined them in the back of the transport. "If Cinder managed to kill Ozpin, and one of her people just killed Port. They can't protect us." the Captain answered. Vernal sighed "We need to get to the tribe. Cinder already failed to turn us, and Raven will know about Summer's power." Commander Branwen nodded "Vernal's right Captain. It's the safest place to be, especially for Ruby."

Captain Schnee took a moment to think "That seems like the best option, but we need to do something first. With the SDC gone, and I'm guessing half the galaxy after us. I think it's only fair, to give them the option of leaving and saving themselves. Once everyone has made their choice, we can go along with anyone who stays behind. To join the Branwen's. Do any of you want to leave? I won't hold it against you if you do." Commander Branwen shook her head and said "I'm not abandoning you or Ruby. Plus, I'm a Branwen anyway." Commander Belladonna followed up "You are all my family, as much as Ghira and Kali Belladonna. I'm not going anywhere without you." Ilia and Neo looked at each other. Neo gave her girlfriend a nod and Ilia said "We aren't leaving Ruby's side. We are coming with you." Ruby stood up "Thank you all, you've already done so much. Just getting me off that ship alive."

"We should get to the bridge, come on." Captain Schnee said as she pushed herself to her feet. The other followed her lead and made their way off the transport. As they did Lieutenant Scarlatina came running into the hangar and over to them. Noticing how battered, bruised and bloodied the group was and the presence of Vernal she gasped "Oh my God, Captain what happened? Are you okay?" the Captain sighed "We're fine, but things aren't good. The SDC is gone, my father and sister are dead, our lives are at risk, and we need to go into hiding." she explained to the Lieutenant.

"What? Why? How?" is all the Lieutenant could say. "It's me, Cinder Fall wants me. She's willing to kill everyone to get to me, she almost did on that ship." Ruby answered. "We'll explain later Velvet, but right now we need to be on the bridge." Commander Branwen said. The group headed off to the bridge, getting worried looks from all the crew members they passed on the way.

They burst into the bridge, everyone on the bridge had grim expressions which got worse when they saw the state of the Captain. Lieutenants Adel, Wukong and Polendina were, they were shocked at the state of the other officers and their companions. "What the hell is going on Captain?" Lieutenant Wukong asked. "We walked into a trap, we had to fight our way off the Ice Queen. But that can wait, what happened while we were gone?" the Captain responded. "Just after you left, a huge fleet came out of hyperspace right on top of us. They opened fire as soon as they appeared, the Ice Queen was the only thing they didn't hit. We are one of the few ships to survive, and I'm sure we'll be the only one. The Huntsmen already lost the Signal, the Spring Maiden, and the Grimm Slayer. Menagerie lost the Freedom, the Independence, and the Equality. The Branwens lost the Vulture, the Ravager, the Pillager, and the Terror Bird. The whole fleet from Vacuo was destroyed and we lost the Glyph and the Arma Gigas. We were completely overwhelmed, by whoever the hell that was." Lieutenant Wukong explained.

The Captain sighed "God Damn it, this is too much. This was the work of Cinder Fall, and Whitley." Everyone on the bridge's eyes widened "Your brother did this?" asked Lieutenant Wukong. The Captain nodded "Yes, he betrayed the SDC, killed my father, and arranged this. Winter is dead too." she admitted. "Why would he do this? Why would they do this?" the baffled Lieutenant asked. "We don't know why he helped Cinder, but we know that she wants to capture and kill me, and it doesn't matter who has to die for her to achieve that." Ruby explained. "What's so special about you?" he asked her. "She inherited something, something that Cinder wants. But she has to kill Ruby to get it. We need to make sure, that she never gets to Ruby. God knows what would happen if she did, but it wouldn't be good for anyone."

"Alright, then what are we going to do? Where are we going to?" Lieutenant Wukong asked. "We won't be revealing that until we know who's coming with us. From here on out, we are in an unimaginable amount of danger. So, I will be releasing giving the crew a choice. Stay and risk almost certain death, or leave and make a new life for themselves." the Captain answered. The Lieutenant nodded "That's very considerate of you Captain, but wherever you're going. I'm coming too, especially if we get to bring Cinder down." he said resolutely. "Thank you Lieutenant." the Captain said before looking to Lieutenant Adel. "I want you to send a message to everyone on the ship. Tell them that the SDC has been destroyed, and we are in grave danger. Then tell them that I won't hold it against them if they choose to leave, and that they have thirty minutes to get to the hangar, if they want to leave." Lieutenant Adel nodded "Yes ma'am. I want you to know that I won't be going anywhere." she responded

"Neither will I ma'am." added Lieutenant Scarlatina Followed by Lieutenant Polendina "I will remain by your side until the end Captain." the Captain nodded "Thank you Adel, Scarlatina, Polendina. I'm honored to have you by my side."


	16. Chapter 16: An Unfortunate Sacrifice

**I considered making this chapter longer, but it seemed to come to a natural conclusion. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

As the deadline for leaving the ship arrived, Captain Schnee walked down the corridor to the hangar with Commanders Branwen and Belladonna. In the silence and the calm of the corridor the Captain started to think about her family situation. Her mother had died a few years ago and thanks to recent events her only remaining family was her traitor of a brother. She felt two things. One was, great sadness at the loss of her father and sister. The other was Fury, fury at her Whitley and at Cinder and at the people who attacked them on Ice Queen. She kept her sadness hidden, not wanting to look weak even in front of the two people she held closest of all now that her family was gone. But she did show the rage that was burning her up inside. "When I get my hands on Whitley, I'm going to break every bone in his body, I'm going to flay him alive, I'm going to tear him apart atom by atom until there is nothing left. But it won't be quick, I'm going to make sure that he suffers and begs for the sweet release of death. I want him to suffer so badly that when I finally send him to hell, eternal suffering will be relaxing. The same goes for Cinder." she announced to her companions. "We will be by your side, holding them down for you Captain. We will make sure that they get what they deserve, that is a promise." Commander Branwen responded. "Thank you, both of you." the Captain replied. "Aside from that. How are you feeling Captain? You know if something is bothering you, you can confide in us. We will do everything in our power to help you and make you feel better." Commander Belladonna added. The Captain sighed "I appreciate that, but right now I don't feel much like talking. I will gladly share with you, my plans for Whitley and Cinder. But for now, I'm keeping the rest for myself. However, I may just take you up on that offer at a later date. Thank you Belladonna and you Branwen." the Captain responded as they reached the hangar door.

Captain Schnee and her Commanders walked into the hangar. Unsurprisingly, given the situation they found themselves in. The hangar was full of crew members, eager to get off the ship and into the relative safety of the civilian life. There was a murmur in the room, from the crew members talking among themselves. But if fell silent as they noticed the arrival of the officers. Captain Schnee sighed "Don't feel bad for wanting to leave, I can't and won't hold this against you. Without the SDC there is nothing left for you here, but a high chance of death. You have all served me well up to this point, but with the situation at hand. I cannot ask you to go any further with me. As long as you remain here, you are in grave danger. So, we will soon be stopping at a station, where we will drop you off and allow you to move on from the SDC, to make new lives for yourselves. I suggest you destroy all evidence of your time with the SDC once you leave, it will make the galaxy a lot safer for you. Thank you for your service, and good luck with your new lives." she said before quickly leaving the hangar.

The two commander remained in the hangar. A small group of soldiers approached them "Commander Branwen, Commander Belladonna. We would like to apologize for leaving you, but we have families at home and we need to protect them. If the risks are as high as the message said and as the Captain said, then we cannot stay." one of them said. The Commanders nodded and Commander Branwen spoke "You don't need to make any excuses, the amount of danger we are in is more than you could possibly imagine. Thousands of people have already died, and we could be next. The only thing I ask is that you don't join our enemies once you leave, because if you do and we meet again. Then we will kill you. If you want my advice, get as far away as you can from any kind of combat. The civilian life is much safer, and you will live at least a little bit longer." the soldier who had spoken looked her in the eye and asked "Why are you staying, if you're so likely to die Commander?" Commander Belladonna answered for her "This is a very personal matter, a very private one that we cannot discuss. If you were staying it would be different, but everything we tell you puts us in more danger. The more you know, the more likely you are to be hunted down, tortured and killed. It's really not worth it, so as soon a you are off this ship. Go, get as far away from all of this as you possibly can, and never look back. That is an order and it's the last one either of us will ever give you."

A few minutes later, the Myrtenaster dropped out of hyperspace on the approach to a neutral space station. The Captain stood on the bridge, along with her officers. "How many crew members will we have left once we let them off?" she asked. "Well ma'am. There is you, the Commanders, myself and the other Lieutenants, Flight Master Rose, Master Engineer Amitola, the three Praetors, and fourteen other crew members. So, 27. 28 of we include Miss Branwen." Lieutenant Scarlatina answered. "That's worse than I thought, I don't even thinks that's enough to keep the ship running." the Captain responded. "You are correct ma'am. We are understaffed, Amitola is the only engineer I have left. I fear, we may have to abandon the Myrtenaster." Lieutenant Soleil said. Captain Schnee sighed "We will be abandoning this ship, as soon as we have reached our next destination. Everyone will be looking for the Myrtenaster, so as much as it pains me. We will have to abandon and scuttle her, to cover our tracks and make us harder to find."

After dropping off hundreds of crew members, the Myrtenaster quickly returned to hyperspace. "Now that's over, where are we going Captain?" Lieutenant Polendina asked. "We are going to the Mistral System, where we will be scuttling the ship and joining the Branwen Tribe. That is the safest place for us to be at the moment." Captain Schnee responded. "Ma'am. Do they know we're coming?" the Lieutenant then asked. "No, nobody can know we are going there. If we were going alone it could be risky but with two Branwens we should be fine. Also, I think it's time we drop all the formalities. Let's just start going by our first names, our new lives start now." the Captain responded. "So no more ranks and last names? Just first names?" Commander Branwen wondered out loud. Weiss said "Yes Yang. I'm not Captain Schnee anymore, I'm just Weiss."

"Cap- I mean Weiss. Should I let everyone else know what's going on." Coco asked. Weiss shook her head "No, I want you to get everyone on the bridge. So I can tell them myself. It's not like we need them to be running the ship anymore." Coco nodded "I'll get right on it." she said before typing up a quick message summoning everyone to the bridge. "So, are we actually joining the Branwens or just hanging around with them for a while?" Sun asked. "I don't know Sun, we'll see what happens. Do you have any issue with joining them?" Weiss asked. Sun shook his head "No, I was just curious. Considering most of us just found out about where we're going."

The remaining crew members soon arrived on the bridge. Ruby, Neo and Ilia arrived first. Followed by Yatsuhashi, Neptune, Scarlet David and Sage Ayana. Then came three women Dew Gayl, Gwen Darcy and Octavia Ember. Another three arrived just after them, Roy Stallion, Nolan Porfirio and May Zedong. Bolin Hori, Reese Chloris and Nadir Shiko arrived a moment later. Finally, three crew members with incredibly grim expressions arrived. They looked that way for very good reasons. They were the siblings of the Captain's who died in the ambush. First there was Arslan Altan, sister of Captain Altan. Then Nebula Violette, sister of Captain Violette. Finally there was, Brawnz Ni, brother of Captain Ni.

"So, this is everyone. Well, I'd like to start by thanking you for staying with me. Now, there are a few things you need to know. First, we need to defend Ruby Rose at all costs. If we fail then the fate of the whole galaxy may be at stake. Cinder Fall is after her, and she has already killed thousands trying to reach her. Second, we will be abandoning ship and scuttling the Myrtenaster. As, we don't have lost too many crew to keep running the ship, and as far as we know. Half the galaxy or more is looking for it. Third, we are dropping all formalities and rank. So, from now on we will address each other by first names. You can call me Weiss, Commander Branwen is now Yang, Commander Belladonna is now Blake, Lieutenant Adel is now Coco, Lieutenant Scarlatina is now Velvet, Lieutenant Wukong is now Sun, Lieutenant Soleil is now Ciel and Lieutenant Polendina is now Penny. Finally, we are heading to the Mistral System to either stay with them or join them. We will no longer be SDC personnel. We will either be Branwen Tribesmen or just a group dedicated to protecting Ruby and combating Cinder." the Captain explained to what was left of her crew. Her speech was met with applause and cheering from everyone. Even the newly bereaved crew members were behind her.

A few hours later, the Myrtenaster dropped out of hyperspace on the periphery of the Mistral System. The majority of the crew made their way down to one of the transports in the hangar. One was all they needed, given that there were only 28 of them with the few possessions they had on the ship and some equipment that may be useful in the future.

Meanwhile, Weiss was on the bridge with Ciel and Ilia. They were going through the steps to activate the self-destruct sequence. "It's a shame we have to do this Cap- Weiss." Ciel said. Weiss sighed "I know Ciel, but trust me. She's just a big target now." she said as she gave authorized the the sequence. "I was just thinking, if Cinder finds out about the Myrtenaster being destroyed. She might think that Ruby died, and give up on her search. For a while at least." Ilia said. "Your right Ilia, I hadn't actually thought about that. But if we lay low for a while, it'll take some of the heat off us." Weiss replied. "What should I set the timer for Weiss?" Ciel asked. "I think ten minutes should do, if we run and get going immediately. We'll be well out of harms reach, by the time it goes off." Weiss answered. Ciel nodded "Timer is set, time to go." she said. The trio ran off the bridge and down to the hangar.

Ruby fired up the engines, as soon as Weiss, Ilia and Ciel entered the hangar. They crossed the hangar in record time, piling in to the transport with the rest of the crew. Weiss took in her last view of the inside of her ship, as the doors closed behind her. Seconds later, they were flying away for the doomed vessel at high velocity. "Goodbye Myrtenaster." she said quietly. Blake heard her and said "We're all going to miss her."

While the rest of the crew sat in the back coming to terms with everything. Ruby was sitting in the cockpit, she wanted one last look at the ship which had changed her life so drastically. So, once she reached a safe distance, she turned the transport and watched as the self-destruct sequence came to its dramatic conclusion. There were a series of explosions running along the length of the ship, then a moment later a single huge explosion wiped the Myrtenaster out of existence. Ruby sighed "All this because of me, and I don't even know what my power is. I hope Yang's mom can clear things up and keep everyone safe." she said to herself before flying to where she was told she would find the Branwens.

* * *

 **I decided that this story should have its own theme song. So, after a little consideration and because I can't stop listening to it.** **I decided on Child In Time by Deep Purple. I feel like it fits well, with this version of Ruby.**


	17. Chapter 17: The Branwens

**I started this whole thing just to see what would happen. I didn't really have any passion for writing this. But, the more I have written, the more attached I've become to it. At this point, I've written at least a chapter a day since the 27th. Which seems utterly insane to me considering I haven't planned anything out. I just love writing this, I love the way the characters are, I just can't stop myself. So I can see this going for a long time, and living up to its name. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.**

* * *

"You are in Branwen Tribal Territory, give me one good reason why we shouldn't blow you to pieces." a voice coming through Ruby's headset demanded as two fighters approached the transport. "I have your chief's daughters on board." Ruby replied. "Can you prove that?" the voice asked her. "I can prove it when you let us land." she responded. "If you can't prove it, how can we trust you?" the voice asked. "You can't trust me, but if you shoot us down you'll have your own tribe, the SDC and Menagerie coming after you. So, I suggest you let us land." she answered. "Fine, we won't shoot you down. But if you're lying, we will kill you." the voice responded.

A few minutes later the transport and its escorts touched down closes to a large palace complex. Upon seeing the place, Ruby said to herself "This isn't what I expected from a tribe." Armed guards quickly surrounded them, ready to open fire if anything was wrong. Ruby opened the rear door before opening the cockpit door.

Meanwhile, the former crew of the Myrtenaster put their hands up, as they saw armed guard waiting for them when the door opened. "Identify yourselves." demanded one of the guards. Yang answered first "I'm Yang Branwen, Raven's daughter. So, put those guns down." The guards immediately dropped their weapons and bowed before Yang. "Our apologies, your pilot told us you were on board, but we have to be cautious." one of the guards said. "Don't worry about it, you were just doing your jobs. But please don't point your weapons at any of us again, I don't want to have to kill you." Yang said as she walked off the transport. The guards nodded in acknowledgement and stepped aside. Yang was quickly followed by Vernal, Weiss, Blake and the rest of the crew. "Please let her know we're here." Yang said to one of them. He gave a quick bow and then pulled out a scroll. "Inform the chief that her daughter has arrived, with company." he said into it.

Soon the former crew of the Myrtenaster were making their way through halls of the Branwen Palace. Yang and Vernal were at the head of the group, making it easy for them to get around. No guards would dare question a member of the Branwen family, even if one of them was adopted into the family. They eventually arrived at the door to the chief's chamber, deep within the vast complex. The two guards at the door quickly opened them and bowed to Yang and Vernal.

There were two people standing in the chamber. A graying man with a beard and a younger looking woman with black hair and red eyes. She looked like a darker version of Yang. "Vernal, welcome back. I assume things didn't go well given the manner of your arrival." the woman said. "We walked into a trap, it was a massacre." Vernal responded. The woman then turned to Yang "Welcome home Yang, it's been a long time. I assume you were caught in this trap." Yang nodded "It's good to see you again mom, and you Uncle Qrow. We were escorting Admiral Schnee, and during the meeting we were ambushed. There is a lot more going on than that, so I need to introduce you to some people." Yang replied. "Indeed, go ahead Yang." was the response from her mother.

"Everyone, this is my mother Chief Raven Branwen and this is Qrow Branwen her brother and consort." Yang said as she turned to her companions. She placed her hand on the shoulders of each of them as she introduced them "This is Weiss Schnee, the former Captain of the SDC Myrtenaster and a good friend of mine. This is Blake Belladonna, former White Fang second in command, princess of Menagerie and my girlfriend. This is Sun Wukong, former Chief Tactical Officer of the Myrtenaster and one of the best tacticians in the galaxy. This is Coco Adel, former Chief Communications Officer of the Myrtenaster. This is Velvet Scarlatina, former Chief Logistical Officer of the Myrtenaster. This is Ciel Soleil, former Chief Engineering Officer of the Myrtenaster. This is Penny Polendina, former Chief Navigational Officer of the Myrtenaster. These are the remaining members of the Myrtenaster crew and finally. This is Ruby Rose, the daughter of Summer Rose."

Raven and Qrow both gasped at the last part, their jaws dropping. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. We have a lot to discuss." Rave managed to say when she had regained her composure. "It's an honor to meet you Chief Branwen" Weiss said. Followed by Blake saying "Yes, it's a great honor to meet you Chief Branwen." similar words came from the rest of the visiting party. Raven nodded "Yang, Vernal, Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna, Miss Rose" please come with me, the rest of people can remain here." she said. Before disappearing through a set of curtains. Qrow, the younger Branwens, and the three others followed her.

The room they found themselves in, was small and only lit by candles. There was very little furniture and cushions on the floor, which Raven gestured for them to sit on. They each selected a cushion and took a seat, they sat facing Raven and Qrow. "So, I would like you to explain to me exactly what happened at the meeting and how you came to be in your current situation. But there are a few things I want to get out of the way first" Raven said. The other all nodded in response, allowing Raven to speak again. "So, you are a Schnee." she said as she looked to Weiss. "Yes, I am Weiss Schnee. Jacques Schnee's daughter and sister of Admiral Winter Schnee." Weiss responded. "Your family and organisation have been great allies to us in recent years, how are thing going now? If I may ask." Raven said. Weiss sighed "Thank you Chief, I'm afraid things have gone horribly wrong." Raven raised an eyebrow "How so?" she asked. Weiss sighed again "Well, I believe you are aware of this Cinder Fall woman." Raven nodded so Weiss continued "So, a few weeks ago. She paid off one of our people to turn on the SDC and kill me. Fortunately, we managed to escape and deal with the threat. But things got worse from there. Adam Taurus and the White Fang were forced into attacking us, they launched a large scale surprise attack on SDC HQ. Luckily we were able to capture Adam and fight off the attackers. Then my brother betrayed us, freed Adam, gave our location to Cinder, and allowed the Admiral's ship to be taken over by hostiles. Now, the SDC is all but destroyed, thousands are dead including my father and sister, and the Huntsmen, Menagerie, and Vacuo have all been attacked. On top of that, your fleet at the meeting was all but destroyed during the ambush. As far as we know, Vernal is the only one of your people to survive." Weiss explained.

As she listened to Weiss, Raven's expression went from shock, to sadness, to anger. "Why the hell did that bitch do this?" she asked when she had calmed herself enough to speak. Weiss sighed "During the meeting General Port revealed that it was Cinder who killed Summer Rose, that she was trying to inherit her power, and now she's after Ruby." Raven nodded "As I said earlier, we will discuss this in detail later. But there are a few other things to get out of the way first."

Raven looked at Blake "So, you must be Ghira and Kali's daughter." she said. Blake nodded "Yes I am Chief Branwen." she replied. A small smile appeared on Raven's face but vanished when she said "Former second in command of the White Fang too." Blake nodded again "Yes Chief Branwen, I was until I left the White Fang and joined the SDC." Raven nodded "Well, you went from being an enemy of ours to an ally. So, I won't hold your past against you. Now, what was this Yang said about you being her girlfriend?" she said. Blake blushed slightly at the question, but quickly thought of a response. "Well, Chief Branwen. Your daughter saved me from slavers and has been nothing but kind and affectionate towards me since that day. She has never judged me for my past or for being a Faunus, in truth I love her more than anything." Yang and Raven both smiled at this. "Do you feel the same Yang?" Raven asked, a nod from Yang answered her question. "In that case, welcome to the family Blake." the Chief said to her potential future daughter-in-law. "Thank you Chief." Blake responded.

Raven turned her attention to Yang. "How have you been, since last time I saw you?" she asked. "Well, I was the second in command on the Myrtenaster. Which was the most successful ship in the SDC fleet. You already know about things with Blake." Yang paused for a moment, before rolling up here sleeve and saying "I also kind of lost and arm." Raven and Qrow were shocked by the revelation. "How'd that happen?" Qrow asked. Yang sighed "Well, Blake used to be in a relationship with Adam Taurus, when she was in the White Fang. So, things weren't exactly friendly the first time I met him. Anyway, one thing led to another. I tried to punch him and he cut my arm off. It's not all bad though, this arm is way better than the old one and I took one of Adam's arms." Raven and Qrow were both shocked and impressed by the blonde. "Anything else happen?" Raven asked when she composed herself. Yang took a moment to think "Oh, and I found Ruby during a raid on a dust freighter. Got her to join the SDC and now she's here." she said. "So, that's how she ended up with you." Raven said as she turned to Ruby.

"You look just like Summer." she said to Ruby. Ruby smiled "Thank you Chief." she responded. "I'm not sure if you know this but I was a friend of your mother's." Raven said. Ruby nodded "I only found out about that recently, and I hear that you were with her when she died." Raven's face dropped and she sighed "Yes, I was with her. You know, her last words were about you. How much she loved you and how she wished she could see you grown up." Ruby teared up at Raven's words. "Thank you, for telling me that." she said before wiping her eyes. After a moment of silence Raven asked "How much do you know about your family Ruby?" Ruby stayed quiet for a moment then cleared her throat. "Not very much thanks to dad. I know that Yang is my half-sister and that you are her mother. That's pretty much all I ever got from that lying bastard. He told me your were both dead, he never told me how mom died, as far as I knew. He was all I had. But now, I know how mom died, I know who killed her, I have a sister who is still very much alive, and her mother is also alive. I know that I have inherited some kind of power from mom, I know that you left him to return to this tribe. I'm not entirely happy about you leaving him, but you clearly had a lot of good reasons to go, and I guess I should be thankful because I would never have been born if you stayed. Really, if he was as much of a liar to you as he was to me, I can understand why you left and took Yang with you. That bastard lied to me my whole life, just to make himself feel better. That's what I know about my family." she ranted for everyone to hear. She didn't care who was listening, she wanted the whole of the Remnant Galaxy to hear how much she resented her father.

After a moment of stunned silence Raven worriedly asked "Are you okay? I didn't mean to strike a nerve." Ruby nodded and started to speak with a burning passion "I'm fine, I don't need Taiyang Xiao Long anymore. I have a real family, real people to make life worth living now. I have Yang, Blake, Weiss to replace him. Now, I also have two wonderful girlfriends who would be willing to die for me, who I would willingly die for. Ilia and Neo both have very dark pasts, both of them have done terrible things, but both of them are honest and I love them more than anything in the Galaxy. So, I really don't need Taiyang, and I'm so much happier than I have ever been. Things may be looking bleak, but with all of these wonderful people around me. Cinder doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

 **I'm starting to feel bad for Tai. He's lost Raven, Yang, Summer and now Ruby is done with him. If he ever makes an appearance, I'll have to be nice to him. I think I'm being overly harsh, to a character I actually like. But, I guess I need someone to mess with since I already killed off Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Cardin, Fox, Winter, Professor Port, Jacques, Junior and The Malachite Sisters.**


	18. Chapter 18: A Short Conversation

**Here's my second chapter of the day, not much going on just a bit of exposition.**

* * *

After Weiss and Raven had spent a couple of hours discussing the state of the SDC, the threat posed by Cinder, and the future of her crew. They returned to the rest of the group. "Everyone, I have been discussing our future with Chief Branwen and we have decided that the best option would be for us to join the tribe." Weiss announce before asking "Does anyone have any questions?" Nobody did have any questions, as they had all been preparing for this eventuality. Raven waited a moment to give plenty of opportunity for questions to be asked. When none came she decided to speak "Ruby, I believe you want to find out more about this power of yours." Ruby nodded "Yes Chief, if there is anything you could tell me. I would really appreciate it." she said. Raven smiled "Of course I will tell you. You deserve to know, and you need to know in case you ever need to use it. Please, come with me and I will tell you all I know." she said. As she walked away with Ruby she said "Qrow, get the others settled and introduced while I'm away."

Sitting opposite each other in the candle lit room. Raven asked Ruby "What do you know about your power?" Ruby said "I know it can kill a lot of Grimm and it's passed on to your child or the last person you were thinking if you don't have children. I also heard that it uses up a lot of energy, but that's all I know." Raven nodded "Well, that's a good start but there is a lot more to it than that. First, it can kill people as well as Grimm. Summer tried to avoid killing people as much as possible, but there are times when it was unavoidable. She killed them with her power even less frequently, only in the most dire situations where death was pretty much guaranteed. Second, you can control it and target the specific thing or person you want to use it on, or you can just unleash it on everything around you. Third, you can activate it intentionally by picturing yourself using it or it can activate by itself in high stress situations. It won't be unleashed on it's own, but it becomes available to you when you may need it. Finally, if you have more than one child then each of your children gets your abilities when you die. That's all I know from what I witnessed and from what Summer told me. I hope that clears things up for you." she explained.

It took Ruby a few moments to process the information, but once she did she said "Thank you Chief, that was very helpful. I can see why Cinder wants my power and why we can't let her get it." Raven nodded "That's good to know Ruby, now I know we aren't blood relatives. But you are Yang's sister and Tai's daughter. So you don't have to call me Chief, you can call me Raven, or if you are that way inclined. You can call me whatever variation of mother you want. Though I don't expect you to, Summer is your real mother and I would never try to take that from her. Also, feel free to call yourself a Branwen. You are family so you can be Ruby Branwen, Ruby Rose Branwen, Ruby Branwen Rose, or you can stick with Ruby Rose. Unlike Tai, I will grant you as much freedom as you want and I will truthfully answer any questions you have." she told Ruby. Ruby smiled "Thank you so much Raven, it feels like it's too soon to call you my mother or to call myself a Branwen. But I'm sure that will change over time, I very much consider you to be part of my family." she responded. Raven smiled "You've inherited more than just Summer's looks and powers. You're just like her Ruby, and I won't let another Rose down, like I did the last time. I will do everything in my power and in the Tribe's power. To protect you and your friend from harm, and to stop Cinder in her track. From what Weiss has told me, you aren't exactly a damsel in distress on your own. But with us by your side, as you said. Cinder doesn't stand a chance."

"Raven, I've heard a little about you and the tribe from Yang. But can you tell me what exactly you do?" Ruby asked. Raven sighed "Well I can't say I'm not worried about how you will react to this, but I've been informed that you're a very understanding and accepting girl. So, here goes. We are bandits or something like that. We raid settlements, ships and stations, we take money and supplies to keep ourselves going. We try to avoid hurting people as much as possible, but we will resort to violence if we have to. Occasionally we take hostages and demand ransoms, but we don't harm them unless they have personally wronged us. If it's someone who hasn't wronged us and nobody is willing to pay a bounty, then we offer them a permanent place with us. Other than that we operate a lot like the SDC used to. We free slaves, provide disaster relief, attack the dust companies, fight with Atlas and its allies, occasionally fight Grimm, and fight other organisations like the White Fang and the Human Defense League. Technically we are criminals, and we aren't exactly good people. But we aren't straight up evil and we are nice to those who deserve it. Do you have a problem with any of that?" Ruby shook her head "I don't think you are evil and I am happy to be with you. I don't judge people on their character and nothing else. I mean I'm in a relationship with the former bodyguard of Roman Torchwick and a former White Fang assassin. So, don't worry Raven. I like you, I like Qrow, I like Vernal, I like Yang, and since I arrived the only hostility I have experienced was when I first flew into your territory and I could have been a threat. I'm happy here, as happy as when I was with the SDC." she replied.

When Ruby finished Raven smiled at her and said "Welcome to the Branwen Tribe Ruby, this is your home now and these people are your people too."


	19. Chapter 19: Friend or Foe?

**Time for a short break from the RWBY girls, they'll be back in the next chapter. So, here's things from someone else's perspective.**

* * *

Cinder Fall sat upon a black throne in a dark room, the only light coming from a number of torches running along the length of the room. She clenched her hands in tight fists, her eyes burning with rage. "Why don't you have the girl?" she demanded from silver haired man and green haired woman in front of her. "They put up more of a fight than we expected, the only reason they kept us alive was to send a message. They killed everyone we threw at them, and escaped the ambush." the silver haired man explained. "They should have killed you Mercury, you are weak! You have failed me just like Xiong and Taurus failed me!" she shouted at him. "I will get her for you mistress, I will bring her to you." the green haired girl said. "You already failed to do that Emerald, I should just kill you and go after the girl myself." Cinder replied coldly. "I understand mistress, I'm sorry I failed you." Emerald responded. "You have one more chance Emerald, I don't want to have to kill you but fail me again and I will have no choice. I no longer want just Ruby Rose. You will bring me Yang Branwen, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Ilia Amitola and Neopolitan to me. If you can't do that, you better hope I don't find you. Mercury, you will remain here. I'm far from done with your punishment." Cinder ordered.

Emerald nodded "I will not fail you again mistress." she said before limping out of the throne room, leaving Mercury to his fate. Once she was out of earshot, she said to herself "That blonde is going to kill me, but at least she'll be more merciful than Cinder." she sighed before continuing on her way. Mercury's screams of agony faded away, the further she go from the throne room. She could only imagine what Cinder was doing to him, but it made her certain that she would rather attempt her mission and die, than fail and incur Cinder's wrath. But then again maybe there was a third option. What if she could join the women she had been defeated by, they could save her and protect her from Cinder. From the dossiers of the she had read before the attack and from her personal experience, she could tell that they were an interesting group.

There was Captain Schnee, most successful Captain in SDC history. She was known for being ruthless with anyone who challenged her, and she was incredibly tough in a fight. If anyone was going to be a barrier to Emerald joining the group, it would be her. Emerald had killed her sister right in front of her after all.

"I hope she can forgive me for killing the Admiral. If not, she may give me a worse death than Cinder would."

Then there was Commander Branwen, daughter of the infamous Raven Branwen. She personally killed hundreds of people while working for the SDC. She took Adam Taurus' arm and had personally killed hundreds. During the attack, she had sent Mercury sailing across the room with a single punch, and could have killed Emerald if she wanted.

"She spared me once, maybe she can be reasoned with."

There was Commander Belladonna, princess of Menagerie and former right hand to Adam Taurus. She had killed even more than the Branwen had, she almost single handedly cleared the escape route from the attack. If the group had welcomed someone like her, then surely it wouldn't be impossible for Emerald to be accepted.

"I can relate to her, I hope she can do the same."

There was Ilia Amitola, a former White Fang assassin. She had also killed hundreds of people and had once gone after the Belladonna family. If they were willing to accept someone who had tried to kill the parents of another member of the group, then maybe there was hope for Emerald.

"She seems to be a lot like me, she just didn't go through with it."

Then there was the one only known as Neopolitan. She had been Roman Torchwick's bodyguard for years, and her criminal record was a mile long. Like many of the other group members, she had a lot of blood on her hands. Torchwick had been a long time enemy of the SDC and a lot of SDC members had died at his hands and at the hands of his bodyguard. So, once again there was some hope.

"Another relatable one, I hope she understands."

Finally, there was Ruby Rose. The girl Cinder was after, it wasn't clear why. Cinder never explained why she needed her alive. Ruby was the daughter of a famous huntress and until recently, she had worked for the dust companies. But since she joined the SDC, she had racked up dozens of kills. She even killed someone during the attack, but she looked so young and innocent.

"I wish I knew more about her, I really don't know what's so special about her. But if I can get close to her then I might be safe from the others."

Before she could think more about defecting her scroll buzzer. When she looked at it she saw that the ship that the group had escaped on, had dropped off most of its crew and had vanished. "What the hell is going on? Where would they go?" Whatever she was going to do, Emerald needed to find them.

She boarded her personal craft and headed to the last known location of the Myrtenaster. "Let's see if the crew members they dropped off can help me. I hope this isn't a trap." she said as she left the planet's atmosphere.

A few hours later, Emerald arrived at the Neutral Space Station. The first thing she noticed was that there were hundreds of people in SDC uniforms wandering about. "Jackpot." she said to herself. Someone must know where they went.

Emerald approached one of them. "Hey, can you tell me where your ship went?" she asked. The man looked at her "Don't look at me, I was just an engineer. I don't know anything." he said before walking off.

Emerald sighed and approached another "Can you tell me where your ship went?" she asked. He shrugged "I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you." he said before he too walked off.

She walked over to another one "Do you know where your ship went?" she asked. He smiled at her "I'd love to tell a girl as cute as you, but they didn't tell us before they dropped us here." Emerald sighed "Thanks." she said before walking away from him.

This time Emerald approached a woman, but before she could ask. The woman said "Before you ask, I don't know and I don't care. I'm going home and getting as far away from this as I can, I suggest you do the same." and walked away.

As Emerald watched the woman walking away, someone caught her eye. There was an girl with orange hair with Blue highlights and a tail. She walked over to the girl "Hey, can you tell me where the Myrtenaster went?" the girl smiled at her "No, but I have a couple of ideas." she replied. "Okay, where do you think it went?" Emerald asked. "Before I tell you, why are you asking?" the girl responded. Emerald sighed "I'm looking for someone who is still on board. So, will you help me." The girl nodded "Yeah, I'll help you. I mean look how pretty you are, I can't say no to a girl like you. What's your name beautiful?" Emerald blushed, something she hadn't done in years. "I'm Emerald. How about you?" she asked. "Great to meet you Emerald, I'm Neon. Neon Katt." the girl answered.

"Okay Neon, where do you think they went?" Emerald asked. "They either went to Menagerie to stay with Commander Belladonna's family, or Mistral to stay with Commander Branwen's family."

* * *

 **My favorite group of badass females, will be returning in the next chapter. See you then, I hope.**


	20. Chapter 20: Ready to Raid

**This took me longer than it should have. But my cat kept attacking my legs, I can't say I'm particularly fond of having teeth sinking into my leg while I write. Anyway, the girls are back as promised. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"I'm sure you're all great fighters, but I want to see it for myself. Before we send you on any raids. So, you'll be sparing with some of our best fighters. You first Yang, it's been a while since I saw you fight." Qrow said. Yang nodded and walked into the center of the combat arena, a tall and well built man joined her. "So, you're the Chief's daughter." he said. "Yep, you must be pretty new around here." Yang replied. "3, 2, 1, fight!" Qrow shouted.

Immediately the man threw a punch aiming for Yang's face. She ducked out the way sending her own fist into his stomach. The man stumbled back a few steps then raised his hands in a defensive position. Yang ran at him ready to tackle, he moved to the side at the last moment. Rather than missing the man, Yang stopped right next to him. She kicked his legs out from under him, sending him to the floor. He rolled away and quickly returned to his feet. Only for Yang's shoulder to connect with his chest, knocking him back down. She grabbed him by the neck and held him down with one hand, pulling the other one back and preparing to throw a punch. He grabbed the arm that was pinning him and tried to push Yang off. But she held on, pulled him over with her and then put him in a sleeper hold. Before he slipped into unconsciousness. Qrow shouted "Yang wins!" so Yang let go, got to her feet and gave the man a hand up. "Damn, you're strong." the man said to her. Yang smiled "I was going easy on you, I punched a guy across a room the other day."

"You're up Blake!" Qrow shouted. Blake walked into the center of the arena, where she was joined by another female Cat Faunus. "It's not often that I get to fight royalty." the woman said. Blake laughed "There's nothing royal about me." she replied. "Prove it." the woman said before Qrow shouted "3, 2, 1, fight!" The woman took a few steps back "Come at me Princess." she taunted. In the blink of an eye Blake covered the distance between them, planting a foot in the woman's chest. The woman was winded and stumbled back, Blake threw a punch but she managed to parry the blow. The punch was only a distraction though and the woman left the ground as Blake's leg swept hers off the ground. She grabbed for Blake as she fell, trying to bring her down. But Blake grabbed her arm and stopping her from falling before throwing her down backwards. Yet again, the woman was winded and Blake pinned her down as she lay on her back. She was unable to throw Blake off so Qrow shouted "Blake wins!" After getting to her feet Blake pulled the woman up "Need anymore proof?" she asked. The woman shook her head "No, the fact I didn't land a hit on you is enough for me."

"Weiss, you're up!" Qrow shouted. Weiss walked out to meet a blonde man who was only slightly taller than she was. "I can't hit someone as hot as you." he said. Weiss sighed "Shame, I don't have an issue with hitting you." The man smiled "Feisty, I like it." he said. Weiss shook her head and sighed before Qrow shouted "3, 2, 1, fight!" Weiss punched the man straight in the face, he stumbled back before taking up a defensive stance. "So, you like it rough." he said before throwing a punch of his own. Weiss grabbed him arm and threw him to the ground "Not, with you I don't" she said. She allowed him to get to his feet and back away again "You will when I'm finished with you." he said before charging at her. She sidestepped and straight passed her, and fell over. Before he could get up, Weiss walked up and put him in a headlock "I assure you, I won't." she said as she tightened the lock. He tried to pull her arm off his neck, and she let go. She walked away and her came running at her once he was back up. He was met by a perfectly timed punch to the jaw, the combined velocity of him running and the punch knocked him clean out. As soon as he hit the ground, Qrow shouted "Weiss wins!" Weiss dragged the man out of the arena.

"You're turn Ilia!" Qrow shouted. Ilia walked into the arena, and so did a female Wolf Faunus. "Your ready to lose?" the woman asked. Ilia shook her head "I'll knock that arrogance out of you." she replied. Qrow shouted "3, 2, 1, fight." and Ilia stood there waiting for her opponent to make the first move. The Wolf Faunus ran at her, so she did a flip right over her head. Her opponent turned and came at her again, this time Ilia rolled out of the way. Once again the woman charged her, Ilia didn't dodge this time. She jumped, grabbed the woman by the face and slammed her into the ground. Ilia landed on her feet and the woman landed on her back. The woman rolled onto her back and started to push herself up, so Ilia jumped onto her back and put her in a choke hold. The woman managed to push herself to her feet, the grabbed Ilia's arms and pulled them off her neck. She threw Ilia over her head, but Ilia landed on her feet and slipped out of her grasp. Ilia took a few steps away from the woman, before delivering a roundhouse kick to the side of her head. The woman went down and stayed down, so Qrow shouted "Ilia wins!" Following Weiss' example, Ilia dragged her defeated opponent away.

"Neopolitan, you're up!" Qrow shouted and the girl skipped into the center of the arena. She was joined by a black haired man who towered over her. "This hardly seems like a fair fight." the man said. Neo silently laughed, prompting the man to ask "What's so funny?" In response Neo just pointed at him. Before the man could question her again Qrow shouted "3, 2, 1, fight." The two opponents just stood there. The man didn't want to hurt the small girl in front of him, and Neo was just playing along. Neo got bored of waiting so she gestured at him to come at her, he shook his head. She walked up to him, and delivered a powerful punch to his stomach. The man doubled over in pain and shock. Neo grabbed him by the neck and kneed him in the face as he leaned forward. The man dropped to his hands and knees. Neo lifted his chin up and threw a single punch. The man was knocked out cold. "Neo Wins!" Qrow shouted. Neo bowed before dragging her opponent away.

"Now Ruby!" Qrow shouted. Ruby walked out and met a woman who was slightly taller than her. "You ready kid?" the woman asked. Ruby shrugged "I guess." she said before Qrow shouted "3, 2, 1, fight." The woman threw a punch at Ruby, who ducked out of the way at the last second. She threw another punch, again Ruby dodged. Ruby dodged the third, and fourth punches too. Then the woman kicked at her but Ruby jumped back, the woman went for another kick but this time. Ruby caught her leg and flipped her onto her back. When she hit the ground, she tried to sweep Ruby's legs out from under her. Ruby jumped and the woman's leg went right under her. The woman rolled over and jumped to her feet, she turned and went to tackle Ruby. But once again, Ruby dodged. The woman turned and went back at Ruby, only to have her jump out of the way and trip her over. She landed face first on the ground, but quickly got to her feet. Just as she got back up, Ruby slammed into her with a heavy tackle. The wind was knocked out of her by the impact, and she went down hard with Ruby on top of her. She threw Ruby off, but Ruby landed on her feet and jumped straight back on top of her. This time Ruby held her down by her arms, so the woman tried to kick at Ruby. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't hit Ruby with enough force to get her off. So she tried to headbutt Ruby, to avoid being hit Ruby threw herself backwards away from her opponent. The woman got to her feet, and ran at Ruby. Thanks to Ruby's lightning fast reactions, she was able to move out of the way and put her arm out in front of the woman. Her attacker plowed straight into the army, getting clothes lined and falling backwards. Ruby could have pressed the attack and pinned the woman again, but she waited for her start getting up again. Ruby kicked her in the side, knocking the woman onto her back. She then climbed on top of the woman, and put her in a sleeper hold from behind. The woman couldn't get out of the hold or push Ruby off. So Qrow shouted "Ruby wins." Ruby released her vanquished opponent and helped her up. "How are your reflexes so fast?" the woman asked. Ruby shrugged "I don't know, I've always had super fast reactions." she answered. The walked out of the arena together.

The group gathered around Qrow. "You girls are officially terrifying, you just destroyed our best fighters. So, I'll gladly let you go on raids. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical when you turned up, you just proved how wrong I was. Normally, I'd want to see you fight with weapons, but I'm fairly sure you would kill your opponents. Anyway, I've got something for each of you." he said. Qrow pointed to a number of white mask with red marks on them. "These are the same as the mask Raven wears in combat, you'll need them if you're going on raids. Since you have so many people coming after you." he explained. They all walked over to the masks and each put one on. Surprisingly, they didn't inhibit their vision at all. The mask went perfectly with the red and black tribal outfits that they were all wearing. Qrow smiled "I'd be surprised if anyone puts up a fight against you, they'll probably be so terrified they just hand over everything. Let's go and see Raven. I'll let her know how you did and I'm sure she'd like to see you like that." he said as he started to walk away.

They walked into Raven's room and she was there waiting for them. A small smile appeared on her face when she saw them in their masks. "How did it go Qrow? I'm assuming well since they have the masks." she asked. Qrow smiled "Even our best fighters didn't stand a chance against them, they're completely ready to raid." he said. Raven's smile grew larger "Excellent." she turned her attention to the masked group "I'm impressed. Clearly, it was a good decision allowing you to join us. I'll be sending you next time something comes up, might even join you. But, for now you should all get some rest and get to know this place and the tribe a little better." she said. They all nodded and exited the room, leaving Qrow and Raven behind.

* * *

 **Hope these little fights were interesting, it's helpful that I can draw on personal experience for fight scenes. For some reason, people seem to enjoy attacking me. The one good thing about how horrible school was, is that I can right somewhat realistic fights. Like the way Weiss ended her fight, I did that to someone once. Well, twice actually. Some idiot tried to attack me and I did exactly what she did and knocked him out. Later that same day the guy came after me again and I did exactly the same thing. Honestly, I don't think I would have thought of writing that if I hadn't done it. Anyway, I much prefer writing to fighting, and most other things for that matter. So, I'll be sticking with writing fights rather than actually having them. I thinks that's enough rambling about real life, hope you enjoyed and see you next time.**


	21. Chapter 21: Birds of Prey

**I couldn't resist writing another chapter. So, here you go.**

* * *

A Human Defence League slave ship, made the mistake of entering the Mistral System. Its engines were quickly crippled by the Branwen Tribe, preventing an escape. A troop transport, landed in its hangar. The craft's turrets making quick work of the crew in that section of the ship. Several tribal raiders exited the craft, followed by seven masked figures. Each of them carried red katanas. Other than the fact they were all female, there was very little that could be discerned about them. Other than their hair and a set of cat ears.

The masked an immense mane of black hair, led the other six. As the rest of the raiders cleared the other parts of the ship, the masked group made their way to the bridge. One guard charged the leader, she effortlessly swung her sword and decapitated him. Another guard came running at them a moment later, this time the blonde masked figure stepped forward and drove her blade straight through the man's chest. She twisted it a few times, before pushing the corpse off with her foot.

A short while later, a couple of guards came running at the group. Now the masked Cat Faunus stepped forward. "You're going to die you stupid animal!" one of the guards shouted. The Faunus shook her head and in one swift movement, she disemboweled both men. "I may be an animal, but my intestines are still inside me." she said menacingly before moving past them. The masked figure with white hair moved in front of the group as another guard approached with a knife. She stood there unmoving until he prepared to stab her. The in a single fluid motion, she sliced his hand off. He dropped to his knees holding his stump, so she swung again and relieved him of his head.

A guard tried to ambush the group from the side, but the masked figure with brown hair swung low and took his legs off. He screamed in pain but was silenced by a slash to his throat, that left his head dangling down his back. Another attempted ambush failed when the masked figure with hair reminiscent of ice cream, threw her weapon at the attacker and impaled him through the face. She ran over to him and twisted the blade around a few times before pulling it out.

A guard with a cattle prod and a knife approached the group. The masked figure with brown and red hair ran at him. Before he could react, she had sliced hi torso in half diagonally. He dropped his weapons as his upper half fell to the floor, swiftly followed by his legs and lower body. The masked figure sounded amazed at what she had done "Cool, this thing is sharp." she said as she wiped the blood from her blade.

Once again the masked woman with the mass of black hair, led the group. She was approached by a guard with a shield and a baton. "I'm going to beat you animal loving whores to de…" his words were cut short by a katana blade passing through his shield and skull like butter. "I'm sick of the." the masked figure said as she pulled her sword out of him. Two more shielded guards approached. The blonde masked figure charged straight at them, knocking them back and making them drop their shields. She stabbed one through the neck while stomping the other one to death. "I knew they were weak minded, but I didn't think that applied to their skulls." she joked as she wiped the brains from her boot.

A few moments later, a guard arrived with a whip. He attempted to whip the masked Cat Faunus, but she sliced the end of the whip off. The she ran at him, swinging her blade upwards between his legs. She dragged it up through his body until she his his sternum. The pulled the blade out and let him fall. A guard came around the corned using a semi-naked Rabbit Faunus as a shield. It didn't help him very much, as Faunus kicked him in the shin. He let go for a second, only for the masked figure with white hair to run past the Faunus and impale him through the chest. "Thank you." the Faunus said. "Go to the hangar, we will get you out of her as soon as we have finished with the crew." the white haired woman replied. The Faunus nodded and ran the way the group had come.

The group reached the bridge a moment later, there were five men standing outside the door. They all had shield and a variety of weapons. The seven masked figures approached them, each pointing their katanas at the guards. The masked figure with Brown, White and Pink hair jumped at the men, pointing her blade down and driving it through the skull of her unfortunate victim. The brown haired figure also jumped, but she swung her blade. Vertically decapitating her victim. The figure with brown and red hair ran into the gap created by the two dead guards, before any of them turned to face her she stabbed one of the guards in the side and pulled the blade through his front. Disemboweling him from the inside out. She laughed "I should be disturbed, but this is fun." The blonde figure grabbed the shield and baton from one of the two remaining guards. She pulled them out of his hands and threw them to the sides. Headbutting him in the face as she did so. Thanks to the mask, his nose was broken and the figure was uninjured. So, she did it again. He fell to his knees, so she grabbed his head and viciously snapped his neck. The last guard was the most unfortunate. He was impaled by three different swords. The sword of the leading masked figure was in his stomach, and the blades of the Cat Faunus and white haired figure were on either side. They all dragged their swords up, leaving three large gashed in his abdomen. He survived the initial attack, but he didn't survive having a blade in each eye and one in the mouth.

With the final guards dead, the blonde kicked open the door to the bridge. There was the Captain and a few unarmed officers. The leading masked figure went for the Captain while the other six, butchered the officers. The leader beat the Captain to within an inch off his life, then stopped and removed her mask. The beaten man gasped when he saw that she wasn't just any member of the Branwen Tribe, she was the Chief. "So, I want to introduce my friends here before we kill you. As you seem to know, I'm Raven Branwen, but now you get to meet these six. These are my Birds of Prey, and that's all you need to know." she said before cutting the man in half from head to groin.

* * *

 **I hope you agree that the level of badassery just went up. There will definitely be more from Raven and the Birds of Prey.**


	22. Chapter 22: A Party

**Struggling with a bit of writer's block. I know where I want things to go, but I'm not yet certain how to get there. So, while I think about it. Here's a bit more of the girls in action.**

* * *

"You did very well, I'm proud of you all. Tonight we will be holding a celebration, in your honor. The six of you are the most elite fighters we have, and I want the tribe to see you. They respect strength above all else, and you have more of that than any of them. I'm sure my Birds of Prey will become known and feared across the galaxy. However, we need to protect your true identities. So, I will be assigning you new identities, to use when you are outside of the palaces. These new identities will grant you all the Branwen family name and indicate your status as a Bird of Prey." Raven announced to the group once they returned from the raid. They all nodded in response so she continued. "Yang, when you are out on a mission or in public you will go by Eagle Branwen. Blake, you will be Hawk Branwen. Weiss, you will be Falcon Branwen. Ilia, you will be Kite Branwen. Neo, you will be Vulture Branwen. Ruby, you will be Owl Branwen." once again, they all nodded.

A couple of hours later, a large group of tribe members had assembled in a large hall. A lot of them were drinking and getting very rowdy, as you would expect from a tribe of bandits. Ruby sat at a table in the corner of the room, with Ilia and Neo. She sighed "How come everywhere we go, people just start praising and celebrating us?" she asked. Neo shrugged and Ilia said "I don't know, but it's really getting out of hand." The other two nodded in agreement "At least we aren't the center of attention here. I don't think most of them know what's going on, they just want to get drunk." Ruby commented. "Maybe we aren't but the other three seem to be getting a lot of attention." said Ilia as she watched various men and women trying to get close to Weiss, Yang and Blake. Ruby noticed it too and said "I hope for everyone's sake that nobody tries to hit on any of them. I can picture Yang throwing someone across the room, or Blake stabbing someone." Her girlfriends laughed "Actually, I'd like to see that. It would make things a little more interesting." Ilia said with Neo nodding in agreement. "I don't think Raven would be too happy if they started killing people." Ruby responded. Ilia shook her head "I don't know how she'd feel to be honest, especially if it was Yang doing the killing."

As if on cue, a very drunk looking man got touchy with Yang. She didn't take it well and took him down with a single powerful kick between the legs. The man went down hard, understandable since Yang's powerful legs crushed a skull just a few hours earlier. Ilia laughed "He won't be having any kids." Ruby was about to reply, but things kicked off and stopped her. The man's friends weren't too happy about what Yang did and they started a fight.

One man swung a bottle at Yang's head, but she grabbed it out of his hand and smashed it over his head. Then another man tried to punch her, she parried the attack with one hand and knocked him out with the other. Blake caught on to the trouble and ran to Yang's aid. A woman smashed a bottle and tried to stab Yang, Blake grabbed her arm and snapped it. More people joined the attack on Yang and Blake after witnessing the arm breaking. A chair was thrown at them, only to be caught by Blake and slammed into the head of another attacker. Someone pulled out a knife and tried to stab Blake. She grabbed them by the wrist and made them stab the blade into their own arm.

"Should we help them?" Ilia asked as Weiss joined the fight. Neo shook her head, and Ruby said "For now, I think they can handle this." A woman ran at Yang from behind, but was stopped by a punch to the side of the head by Weiss. Then Yang picked the woman up and threw her into the crowd, taking down three people. The three surrounded women went back to back, ready to fight off attacks from every direction. Each of them threw a number of punches, taking down several more attackers. But more and more people came into the fight, Ilia sighed "I think it's time to intervene." The three girls ran in, clearing a path to their friends. Neo was kicking people in the back of the knee and punching them when they fell to their knees. Ilia was grabbing arms and throwing people to the floor, finishing them off with kicks to the head. Ruby, just charged through the crowds, sending people sprawling to the floor.

When the three girls finally managed to clear a path, Yang had picked up a chair. She was holding it by the back and shoving the sharp remains of its legs at the bandits. Meanwhile, jumping around taking people down with various flying kicks and punches. Weiss, was using elbows on the ribcages of her attackers and kneeing them in the face when they fell. Within only a few minutes, the six Birds of Prey took down at least fifty tribe members.

Raven finally noticed what was happening and shouted "End this now!" and everything stopped. She pushed her way through the crowds and walked into the ring of bodies. "What the hell happened?" she demanded from Yang. Pointing to the pile of people on the ground, Yang said "One of these guys got handsy, and I sterilized him in return. The rest of them didn't take that very well." Raven's anger immediately moved from her daughter, to everyone else. "Which one of you put your hands on my daughter?!" she demanded. The terrified tribe members all pointed to a man lying curled up, among the injured. Raven grabbed him by his neck and lifted him to his feet with Yang like strength. She looked the man in the eyes and menacingly said "You put your filthy hands on my own flesh and blood, You have ten seconds to explain yourself or I'll be taking those hands." The man was too scared to speak, he just rapidly shook his head. Silently begging for mercy. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, time's up." Raven counted down, but when no explanation came she threw the man down. "You're pathetic, you can keep your hands. But you are no longer part of this tribe, leave now and if I ever see you again. Those hands are gone." she coldly said to him, before walking off. The man got to his feet and ran out of the room.

"Birds, come with me." Raven said as she walked. The six girls quickly ran to catch up with her. When they she finally came to a stop, she turned to them and said. "I'm once again impressed with your abilities, but I don't appreciate you beating up my people. If anyone else does something like that, come to me and we'll deal with it with our official disciplinary actions. I would have rained hell on anyone else, if they did what you did. Fortunately for you, one of you is my actual daughter and five of you are like daughters to me. Now, go back to the hall and explain to everyone exactly who you are and why they shouldn't mess with you. I can't have the tribe tearing itself apart because someone messed with you." They all nodded "Thank you, and I'm sorry." Yang said. Raven smiled slightly, before waking away.

The six of them returned to the hall. Everyone in the room stared at them with a mixture of shock, admiration and fear. Leading the other five in, Yang shouted "Everyone listen up!" They all did as Yang ordered and let her speak. "I'm Yang Branwen, and if you didn't know. One of your former friends decided to feel me up, and I dealt with him. The you all decided to back him up and fight us. I want to make one thing very clear. The six of us could kill you all if we wanted to, and if any of you try something like that again. You will die at our hands or at the hands of the Chief. You see, we are the Birds of Prey and combined we have killed thousands of people. We are more than happy to take the lives of anyone stupid enough to stand in our way. Now, if we can be civil then everything will be absolutely fine."

* * *

 **More plot progression soon, once my brain starts cooperating.**


	23. Chapter 23: A Delivery From Menagerie

**My brain started cooperating, here's that plot progression I promised.**

* * *

A few weeks after the fight in the hall, Ruby was getting dressed for a raid with Ilia and Neo. "Are you guys ready for our first time using our new identities?" she asked. Ilia said "Yeah I guess, I just hope we don't slip up. Don't want to forget what to call someone during the raid and let Cinder find us." Neo nodded in agreement with Ilia. "It should be fine. I'm Owl, Neo is Vulture and you are Kite. Then Yang is Eagle, Blake is Hawk and Weiss is Falcon. Nothing too hard to remember and I'm sure we'll get used to them eventually." Ruby responded. Just then there was a banging on the door, Neo opened the door and it was Sun. "Hey guys, A transport just arrived from Menagerie. The Chief you to go and check it out, apparently they have a few things that may interest you." he said. "Any idea what it is?" Ruby asked. Sun shrugged "She didn't say but she wants you to have your masks on and use your new identities." he replied. "Luckily, we were doing that anyway. Is the transport in the same place we landed, when we arrived?" Ruby asked. Sun nodded "Yeah, let me know what's up when you get back. Unless it's top secret or something. Got to go." he said before darting off down the corridor.

Ruby put her mask on and turned to her girlfriends. "You ready to go Kite and Vulture? this seems urgent." she said. Vulture nodded and Kite said "Lead the way Owl, let's see what the big deal is." Owl nodded and led the other two in the direction of the landing area.

When they arrived, they found Raven waiting for them along with Eagle, Hawk and Falcon. There was also a transport with two guards from Menagerie standing with their backs to it's rear door. When Raven saw them arrive she said "Alright, let's see what you've brought me." to the guards. The two guards nodded and one of them banged on the rear door of the transport. A moment later the rear door opened and a group of guards walked out. With them were two women with their hands cuffed and bags over their heads. The two girls were forced to their knees, at that point all that was clear was that one of them had a tail and the other was limping slightly.

"Why have you brought these people to me?" Raven asked. "We caught them snooping around the Belladonna's Palace. They told us that they were looking for someone, but they said that person must be with you since they weren't in Menagerie. So, as an ally of ours, we decided to turn them over to you. It's up to you what you do with them." one of the guards replied. Raven nodded "Do you know who they are looking for?" she asked. The guard nodded "They said her name was Ruby Rose, we had to beat it out of them though." he said. "Alright, leave them with me." Raven said. The guard nodded and all they all climbed into the transport and left without another word.

Raven walked in-between the two women and pulled the bags off their heads. As soon as their faces were revealed, the Bird of Prey all drew their swords. "Friends of yours?" Raven asked. "One of them was." Falcon replied. "Which one?" Raven asked. "The Faunus, her name is Neon Katt." Falcon said. "What about this one?" Raven asked as she pointed to the green haired woman. "That's one of Cinder Fall's little bitches, don't know her name though." Eagle said. Raven lifted the green haired woman's chin up "What's your name then little bitch?" The woman sighed "Emerald, Emerald Sustrai."

"How about you two tell me why you're looking for this Ruby Rose?" Raven asked. "Cinder Fall wanted me to kidnap Ruby, she said she would kill me if I failed. I don't want to work for Cinder anymore, I was hoping that if I could find Ruby then maybe I could defect. Neon was part of the crew on Ruby's ship, and she agreed to help me." Emerald said. "Liar!" Eagle growled at her. "Why should I believe you? Last I heard. You killed Winter Schnee and Saber Rodentia, two allies of mine. I wouldn't mind killing you right here, but that isn't my call to make. Allow me to introduce my Birds of Prey. Eagle Branwen, Hawk Branwen, Falcon Branwen, Kite Branwen, Vulture Branwen and Owl Branwen. You and your friend here are at their mercy." Raven said before walking away.

"Why are you helping her, Neon?" Falcon asked. Neon looked up at her "Since you're probably going to kill me I'll tell you. I used to be an Atlesian spy, but I quit when I realized how they treat Faunus. One day I met this guy, his name was Taiyang Xiao Long. He offered me money to track down his daughter Yang, and keep an eye on her. So, I joined the SDC, got on the Myrtenaster and I was reporting back to him. But I didn't want to die, so I left when the Captain said we were in danger. Then Emerald turns up looking for Ruby and I knew she was related to Yang. So, I decided to work with her to track down Ruby and hopefully Yang. I figured that they would either be in Menagerie or Mistral." Eagle stepped towards her "What did you tell Taiyang?" she asked. Neon sighed "Where Yang was, what she was doing, whatever I could find out." she explained. Eagle nodded but didn't say anything.

Falcon turned to Emerald "So, you killed Winter and you think Ruby would allow you to defect. You must be deluded. I would love to put a bullet through your chest, after what you did. But, if you really want to defect. I'll give you one chance to prove yourself. If you try anything I will take this sword and I will put it deeper inside you than that silver haired bastard ever could." Emeralds head dropped "I wasn't given a choice, I was kidnapped as a child and forced to serve Cinder. So was Mercury, who was being tortured last time I saw him. You can hate me all you want, I deserve it for everything I have done. But, Cinder is more evil than you could possibly imagine. I want to help you bring her down."

Owl stepped forward "Emerald, do you know why Cinder wants Ruby?" she asked. Emerald looked at her "No, all I know is that she wanted her. I do know that she wants more than just Ruby now through. She also wants Yang Branwen, Blake Belladonna, Weiss Schnee, Ilia Amitola and someone called Neopolitan." Owl walked right up to Emerald "You see Emerald, Ruby has powers that can kill anything and anyone instantly. Cinder wants to use that power for evil. You made the right choice when you turned on her, but if you are lying to us. Ruby will kill you before you even know you've been caught."

Falcon turned to face the other Birds of Prey "Should we let Emerald defect?" she asked. Vulture nodded, Kite also nodded but said "Yeah, but we shouldn't let our guard down around her." Hawk sighed "If Cinder forced her into it, then yes. But we should be ready to kill her if she betrays us." Eagle cracked her knuckles "I would love to beat her to death, but since you all seem fine with its. I'll let her live, for now."

Falcon turned back to Emerald "Lucky you, you get to live a little longer. But you know what will happen if you're a double agent for Cinder. Now, both of you get up and come with us. The Chief needs to know we can trust you, for now."


	24. Chapter 24: Interrogation

**Only a short chapter for today, I'm afraid. I've been kind of distracted by Extra Life. Things will back up and running tomorrow, when I don't have as many distractions. Hope this is somewhat interesting.**

* * *

"So, you are going to tell us everything you know about Cinder. You can either tell us willingly, or we can force it out of you. Start talking Emerald." Hawk commanded, as she waved a knife in Emerald's face.

"I'll talk, but do you really need the masks. I know you are already." Emerald replied. Hawk turned to Raven, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Raven nodded, so the Birds of Prey all removed their masks. "I hope you understand that, we didn't take them off because we trust you. It means that you won't be going anywhere, we can't have you getting away and telling anyone where we are." Blake said.

"Fine by me, this is still better than working for Cinder. So, how about you start asking me questions about that bitch." Emerald responded. Blake nodded "Where is Cinder?" she asked. "She has bases all over the galaxy. Last time I saw her, she was in the Vacuo System. But, she spends most of her time on Vale." Emerald replied.

"Alright. Who does she have working for her?" Blake asked. "You already know about the White Fang and Whitley Schnee. But she also has mercenaries from the Vytal Military Corporation, and this group calling themselves Torchwick's Phantoms." Emerald answered. Blake nodded "Where is Adam Taurus?" she asked. Emerald sighed "I don't know. I think Cinder knows but she wouldn't tell anyone." she said

"Where is Whitley Schnee?" Blake asked angrily. "I don't know that either. Cinder isn't exactly open about her plans. Unless it applies to you, she won't say anything. Question her too much and she'll kill you." Emerald replied. "What are Cinder's motives?" an increasingly frustrated Blake asked. "She wants power, she wants the galaxy for herself. That's pretty much it. She will do anything and use anyone to get what she wants. The SDC was just the first step." Emerald answered.

"Final question for now. What does Cinder know about us?" Blake asked. Emerald sighed again "She knows your names, your pasts, your relations and everything publicly known about you. But that's not what you want, is it. You want to know if she knows what happened to you after the ambush. Well, she knows about you dropping of your crew, and vanishing. But that's it, she doesn't know for certain that you are even alive."

"Thank you Emerald, some of that may actually be useful. But for now, we still don't trust you. So, you will remain a prisoner along with Neon. That being said, you will be treated better than a normal prisoner." Blake said as she hauled Emerald to her feet.

Once Emerald had been returned to her cell, it was time for Neon to be interrogated. The masks were back on for the time being. "If you didn't want to stay on the ship with Yang, then why were you so willing to track Yang down. It should have been fairly clear that she was facing a grave threat, and being near would be dangerous. So why?" Hawk questioned as she pointed her knife at Neon.

"It was dangerous to be on the Myrtenaster. But I figured, if I followed her but stayed at a safe distance. I wouldn't be in as much danger. At the time I didn't know that Emerald was part of the danger." Neon replied.

"Alright enough of that. Tell us more about Taiyang Xiao Long and everything you told him." Hawk demanded. Neon nodded "I guess I'll start with why he got me to spy. He told me that his daughter was kidnapped when she was a baby and he wanted to find her." she started. Eagle stepped forward "His daughter wasn't kidnapped. His daughter was raised by her mother, away from that liar." she snapped.

Neon shrank in her chair, at Eagle's outburst. But she continued "After I found Yang and got closer to her I started reporting back to him. He knows she called herself Yang Branwen, that she was part of the SDC, that she lost and arm. He knows that she was in a relationship with Blake Belladonna, that her half-sister turned up and that she was a Commander. He knows all of that."

Eagle grabbed Neon by the throat "How did he react?" she demanded. "He seemed pissed, like really pissed. Especially when I mentioned Ruby." Neon choked out. "What does he plan to do with the information?" Eagle demanded again. "I think he wanted to get them back, he wanted Yang and Ruby to return to him." A terrified Neon responded.

Eagle lifted Neon up by her neck "You stupid bitch, do you realize what you've done. That bastard Tai isn't meant to know any of that, he's a crazy control freak. If he gets close to Ruby or Yang, then bad things will happen!" she furiously screamed at the terrified Cat Faunus. "Enough, she didn't know. Tai is a master manipulator, you can't blame Neon." Raven commanded Eagle's head dropped and she put Neon down. The she took of her mask, her eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry Neon, but my dad needs to stay away from us. Swear to me that you won't give him any more." she said. Neon nodded and said "I swear, I won't tell him anymore about you. What's going to happen to me now?" Yang sighed "We haven't decided yet. For now, you will be kept here with Emerald. I'm sorry to have to do this, but you've really caused us some problems." She then pulled Neon to her feet and took her back to the cells.

* * *

 **Tomorrow's chapter will be longer. I promise.**


	25. Chapter 25: Family

**A longer chapter than last time, as promised. Honestly impressed I got this written, given the state I'm in. I don't get sick often, but everything hits me at once when I do. Anyway, enjoy this one.**

* * *

Ruby sat with Yang, Raven and Qrow. After Neon's interrogation they went to discuss the problem of Taiyang getting involved in their lives again. "So, dad knows that I joined the SDC with Yang?" Ruby asked. "It would seem so." Raven replied as the other two nodded in agreement. "Should we be worried? It's not like he can do much about it. He can't just come and take us." Ruby wondered. "That doesn't mean he won't do something stupid, he's always been an irrational man." Raven respond. "If he tries anything, I'll take him down myself." Yang interjected. "Yeah, he's not a fighter. He couldn't get close." Ruby added. Raven shook her head "Actually, he isn't as much of a pushover as you might think." she said. "What do you mean? I've never seen him fight." Ruby questioned. "Tai used to be a huntsman, that's how we first met him. Raven and I we're huntsmen too." Qrow replied.

Yang and Ruby were both shocked at the revelation. "How come you've never mentioned this before?" asked an irate Yang. Raven sighed "Up until know, it wasn't important. But now that he knows more about you, and now that Ruby's here. It is important." she explained. "Alright, can't say I'm not slightly annoyed that you didn't tell me. But I guess it wasn't relevant. Please tell us more." Yang responded. "There isn't that much to it. Qrow and I went to Vale to be trained as huntsmen, so we could be better fighters. While we were there we were put on a team with Tai and Summer Rose." Raven continued. "So, that's how you knew mom." Ruby said. Raven and Qrow nodded. "Yes, that's it. That's also how Summer met Tai, and in the end it's how the two of you were born." Raven finished.

"Whatever, Tai is only one man. He couldn't take us and even if he did. We could easily just escape him." Yang said. Then a thought struck Ruby "He can't do anything alone, but what if he teams up with Cinder?" Raven looked concerned at Ruby's question "I suppose she could trick him into helping her, or that idiot could be crazy enough to use her to get to you. Luckily, the chances of them even being aware of each other's existence are slim." she said. Yang added "Neither of them know we are here, so even if they are working together. They can't come straight for us." Raven sighed "I'm sure Cinder will come here eventually, Tai might not. But I'm sure Cinder will come knocking."

"I'm afraid Raven's right kiddos, Cinder will come here eventually. But, I think we can make that happen on our own terms. If Emerald is willing to cooperate, we could use her to lure Cinder into a trap." Qrow said. Raven gave a small smile "That will take some planning and it'll be risky. But, if Emerald tells Cinder that she caught you and we were willing to help. Then she may just walk into an ambush. I think Qrow and I need to have a word with Emerald." she said as she stood up. Qrow nodded and joined his sister.

Once the meeting had ended, Raven and Qrow had gone to see Emerald in her cell. Leaving Ruby and Yang alone. "Yang. We haven't really had a chance to just talk, since we first met. I'd really like to get to know you better." Ruby said. Yang smiled at her "How about we do that know then? I want to get to know you better too." she said. "Thanks Yang, but can you ask me something? I'm not sure how to start." Ruby asked. Yang nodded "So, how were things for you when you were growing up? I'm sure we had very different childhoods."

"I don't really remember much about mom, since I was so young when she died. But I know that things were much better when she was around. When it was just me and Tai, I wasn't given much freedom. He wouldn't let me do anything with my friends, I just had to study and do things with him. People didn't want to be friends with me, because of how overprotective he was. I guessed he was just struggling and wanted to keep me safe. After losing Mom, Raven, and you. But no, he was just trying to control me and lying to me about everything. So, I left and got a job as soon as I was old enough. That's pretty much it." Ruby explained. Yang clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles going white "That bastard, I'm sorry about that Rubes." she said. Ruby smiled "Don't apologize for him Yang, you are way better than he is and you didn't do anything wrong."

"Thanks sis, guess I'll tell you about growing up in the tribe." Yang said. Ruby nodded "Yeah, please do."she responded excitedly. "Well, when I was really young. It was pretty ordinary for me, I could be a normal kid. But I started training to fight as I got older, that's how I got so good. Mom may seem intimidating, but she's really great when you get to know her like I do." Yang explained, smiling at the memories. "That's great Yang, I can tell Raven's really nice. She's already treating me like I'm her own daughter, we're so lucky to have her." Ruby responded. Yang grinned at her sister "Well, you are part of the family Rubes. Part of this big crazy family of ours."

"Thanks Yang. So, are you ever going to marry Blake?" Ruby asked. Yang's cheeks reddened slightly and said "Yeah, eventually I guess. Once all this has blown over. What about Ilia and Neo?" Ruby also blushed "Uhh, I… I guess. If three people can even get married, and if they want to. Not yet though." she replied. "I'm not sure about three people getting married. But, it makes sense for you to wait. I mean, you've only been together for a few months." Yang concluded. "Do you think Weiss will find someone?" Ruby asked trying to change the subject. Yang thought for a moment "Well, she isn't a Captain anymore, so there isn't much to stop Neptune anymore. But if she turns him down, then I don't know. I've known her for a long time, but she's never show interest in anybody and I have no idea what she's even in to. She could be Asexual for all I know, we'll just have to see what happens. I think she could really use someone though, since her only surviving family wants to kill her." Ruby nodded"At least she has us, we can take care of her." Yang smiled "You're so sweet Rubes. I'm so glad I found you. Whatever we have to do, please don't change."

"I'll try Yang. Anyway, I can't think of anything else to ask you right now. So, why don't we go and see Weiss?" Ruby suggested. "Sounds like a plan. This was fun though, we should definitely do it again sometime." Yang responded as she got to her feet. "Yeah we should." Ruby said as she got up.

After searching for Weiss for a while, they decided to try her room. They knocked and when she answered her eyes were red from crying. She looked away from them, trying to hide her emotions. "Weiss, it's okay to cry. You can do it in front of us." Yang said. "It's a sign of weakness Yang, I can't be weak." Weiss replied. "You aren't weak, anyone in your position would be the same way. But you aren't alone you know. You have me, Ruby, Blake, the crew, even Raven." Yang responded. "If you need someone to talk to, we're here Weiss. You're like family to us." Ruby added. Weiss looked back at them "Thank you. I guess I was being kind of stupid. Please, come in."

The three of them sat down. "So, I think we already have a pretty good idea. But, what's on your mind Weiss?" Yang asked. Weiss sighed "Well, there's the obvious part, about my family. But, it's not just that. I feel so alone, everyone around me has someone and I don't. What's wrong with me Yang?" The sisters gave her a sympathetic look "There's nothing wrong with you Weiss, you've just been focusing on other things. You'll have no problem finding someone if you're open to it." Yang told her. Ruby nodded in agreement "Yeah Weiss, you're so great. People will be throwing themselves at you, if they know you're available." she added. "Are you sure about that?" Weiss asked. The sisters nodded "Hey Weiss, if you don't mind. I'd like to ask you a personal question." Yang said. "I don't have a problem with that, I need to hear the question before I decided to give any answers though." Weiss replied. "Alright then, what's your sexuality? Like, what kind of people are you into?" Yang asked nervously. Weiss sighed "You mean do I like men, or women, or both?" she asked. Yang nodded. "Well, I haven't thought about it that much. But I'd say I like both, I'm bisexual I guess. Why do you ask?" Weiss answered.

"I was just curious. I've known you for a long time, but I had no idea. I figured since you were talking about being lonely, it would be a good time to ask. It also means that I can maybe help you find someone, or multiple people if you want to be like Ruby." Yang said. Ruby blushes at Yang bringing up her relationship, but she pushed the embarrassment aside and said "I'll help too Weiss. You know, if you want me to." Weiss smiled "Thank you Yang, thank you Ruby. That would be wonderful. I feel like you're sisters to me. As much as Winter." she said. Yang and Ruby smiled back "We feel the same Weiss. As far as we are concerned, you are our sister." Ruby said and Yang nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **Looks like Neptune might have a shot, but who knows. I certainly don't know how things will go for him.**


	26. Chapter 26: Pain and Pleasure

**Today I got a job interview, for the first time in months. So to celebrate, I wrote the second half of this chapter. You'll see what I mean when you get there. Enjoy.**

* * *

A few weeks after the arrival Emerald and Neon were handed over to the Branwens. Owl, Kite and Vulture Branwen stood outside the bridge of a dust freighter. The crew had locked themselves away when the raiders attacked. "We aren't going to hurt you, if you just cooperate. So, you can either come out peacefully or we can come in there and get you." Owl said through the door. "You're just going to kill us as soon as we open the door, we aren't going anywhere." Someone replied. Owl sighed "We can stay here for as long as it take, we'll happily wait for nature to take its course." she said. "We aren't coming out, Ironwood will send help." the same person responded. Owl let out another sigh "That's the thing, nobody is coming to help you. I've been in your position before, and I know how scary it can be. Trust me, we don't want to hurt you, but we can't just leave you here."

"Why should we trust you? All of you are just violent savages." Another voice said. "Whatever you think about the Branwen Tribe, you're wrong. We aren't the White Fang, or the HDL. We don't kill without good reason and so far, you haven't given us a reason to kill you. So, just open the damn door." Kite responded. "The HDL does kill with good reason, they kill those filthy animals!" the voice snapped. "That was the wrong thing to say. We don't take kindly to Faunus haters. So, we are going to come in there and hurt you. We'll be giving you the kind of death someone like you deserves, slow, painful and messy." Kite hissed. She then placed a few explosive charges on the door. They took a few steps back and blew the door open.

The crew were cowering at the far end of the room, they were all around the same age as their attackers. "Which one of you was shouting? come and face me." Kite demanded. None of the crew members admitted it. "In that case, all of you die the same way." she said menacingly. The crew pushed someone forward, a man with blue hair and brown eyes. "It was you then." Kite snapped. The other crew member nodded and the other Branwens grabbed him by the arms and forced him to his knees. "Tell me mister Faunus hater, what's your name?" Kite asked as she pointed her blade at him. He gulped and stuttered out "H-Henry." Kite lifted Henry's head with the side of her weapon under his chin. "Henry what?" She demanded. "H-Henry M-Marigold." he answered. Kite laughed "Well, Henry Marigold. Have you ever heard of Lingchi?"

Henry shook his head "Maybe you know it better as death by a thousand cuts. Really, it's not a thousand cuts. We start removing pieces of your flesh, and we don't stop until your on the verge of death. Then when you've suffered more than you could possibly imagine. We remove your head." Kite explained. Henry looked terrified. "But, for the sake of time. I'm going to skip most of that and just take your arms, legs and a few other things. Then I'll let Vulture and Owl finish you off." Kite continued. Vulture and Owl pulled Henry to his feet and gave Kite room to swing. Kite made three rapid cuts. First she took off his right arm, then his left arm and finally his legs. As Henry's torso hit the floor, she made a quick stab at his crotch. Before taking a step back, to admire her work. Henry was left to scream for a while before, Vulture took his head off and Owl pierced his heart.

Kite turned to the other crew members once Henry had been dispatched. "Does anyone else share his views on Faunus?" she asked. There was no response, as the crew were too scared to react. "I'll be kind and take that as a no. You're all coming with us, as prisoners." Owl and Vulture walked over to the crew. "Get up!" Owl demanded, and eventually they did. They were escorted to the hangar, with three blood-soaked blades pointed at them. "Stop crying, you don't understand true suffering." Owl said as they walked. "No, evil bitches like you don't understand suffering." one of the crew members mustered up the courage to retort. "Oh, we aren't the evil one's here. Do you even know the shady things the dust companies get up to?" Owl asked. "They are honest businesses, but a criminal like you wouldn't understand that." the man snapped. "I may be a criminal, but I still have the moral high ground." Owl replied calmly. "We have broken no laws, you can't claim the high ground." He hissed. Owl laughed "I didn't say anything about laws, I was talking about morals. You see, we treat the Faunus as equals, we look after our people, we don't force people to pay extortionate amounts for things they need to survive. You're just too blind to see it." she explained.

The man gave up on defending the dust companies, but he wasn't done. "Still, you don't understand suffering. You just hacked a man to pieces like it was nothing, you're evil." Kite laughed "Henry deserved what he got, that's why we aren't bothered by his death. We know what suffering is, suffering beyond watching a bigot die. Vulture there, you know why she hasn't said anything? It's because she underwent so much torture, that the screaming destroyed her vocal chords. We understand suffering perfectly, so don't go making your idiotic assumptions. Of course, if you wrong us like Henry did. Then we will gladly introduce you to true suffering." she explained. The man fell silent after that.

The prisoners were taken away once their transport returned to the palace. The three girls headed back to their shared room. "People like Henry are one of the reasons I joined the White Fang, people like that are the reason for our suffering and oppression." Ilia said. Neo and Ruby nodded in understanding. "I can see why the White Fang was so popular, why you and Blake were members." Ruby said as she put a reassuring hand on Ilia's shoulder. Neo nodded in agreement with Ruby and put her hand on Ilia's other shoulder. "What did I do to deserve you two?" Ilia asked. Neo and Ruby smiled "You didn't need to do anything, we love you just for being you." Ruby explained with Neo once again nodding in agreement.

"You guys, are the best girlfriends in the galaxy. Anyway, you know what we haven't done in a while?" Ilia asked. Neo understood what she was getting at, but Ruby was confused "No, what?" she asked. Ilia smiled "Each other Rubes, we haven't done each other in a while." she said. Ruby blushed "Oh, yeah. So, are you suggesting we do it again?" Neo and Ilia both nodded. "Alright, let's do it." Ruby said as they arrived at their room.

With the door shut and locked, the three girls threw their weapons and mask down. Then they made their way over to the bed. Neo immediately pulled her shirt off, showing off the lacy bra that matched her hair. Ilia then removed her shirt, revealing that she had nothing on underneath. Neo grinned widely at the revelation. Unable to help herself, Ruby started to drool at the site of Ilia. The Chameleon Faunus' skin turned red with lust for her girlfriends. She pinned Neo onto the bed as Ruby started to strip. Like Neo, Ruby had a bra that matched her hair. But it didn't stay on for long. She unclasped it and let it fall to the floor, before making her way to the bed.

Ilia sank her teeth into the soft flesh of Neo's neck. Neo's face showed that she was silently moaning in pleasure. While Ilia worked on Neo's upper half, Ruby was at work downstairs. She made quick work of Neo's remaining clothing, and she was teasingly dragging her fingers along the girl's thighs. Neo shifted about, begging for the taunting to stop. But Ruby wasn't done.

Meanwhile, Ilia had removed Neo's bra and was biting the newly exposed flesh. Neo's eyes rolled back, and she started bucking her hips. They had barely started and the ice cream girl had almost melted, but Neo was certainly not finished yet. Ruby finally stopped teasing, using her fast hands in just the right places. She was almost squashed by Neo's legs repeatedly slamming together.

With Ruby's finger work and Ilia's biting, Neo was soon at her breaking point. That was very clear to Ruby, who quite literally got an eyeful. Neo may have been done herself, but she was more than happy to reciprocate. She flipped Ilia on to her back, then slowly made her way down. She switched places with Ruby, and got a mouthful of Ilia. Ruby replicated what Ilia had done to Neo, though she occasionally wrestled for dominance with the Chameleon tongue.

Ilia moaned loudly into Ruby's mouth as the two tongues did their jobs. She gripped tightly onto the bed sheet, as Neo's tongue found a new entry point. Ruby started massaging Ilia's chest, occasionally flicking at certain parts with her fingers and tongue. Neo stopped using her tongue and started working the multiple entry points with her fingers. She met very little resistance, thanks to her previous efforts. Soon, the attention brought Ilia to her own conclusion. A conclusion which Neo happily lapped up.

At last, It was Ruby's turn and the girls were eager to repay her. Ilia adjusted herself, so she was directly under Ruby. She started almost jack-hammering away with her prehensile tongue. While Ilia was doing that, Neo came up behind Ruby. She reached around to Ruby's chest and lightly grasped at the tender flesh, she also nibbled ate Ruby's shoulders and neck. Soft moans left Ruby's mouth, but they increased in intensity as Ilia lapped and prodded at her. Neo moved one hand down Ruby's back, reaching the area that Ilia was neglecting. Ruby tensed up as Neo's finger applied pressure to her back door.

Eventually, Neo brought her hand back and seductively sucked her fingers clean. The she went back to massaging Ruby's chest and using her teeth to mark Ruby. As Ilia made her way deeper inside, Ruby started quivering and her legs clamped Ilia in place. She held the girl in place until with an almost screaming moan escaped her and every muscle in her body relaxed.

The three exhausted and sweaty girls lay naked on top of the bed sheets, far too hot to go under. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

 **I hope that last part wasn't too bad, it's not exactly my area of expertise. Anyway, see you next time.**


	27. Chapter 27: Trust

**Planning on doing a few chapters today, here's the first. Not a particularly long one, but there's a bit of character development and backstory.**

* * *

"What's wrong Blake?" a concerned Yang asked. Blake sighed "I've just been thinking about Adam, he's out there somewhere." she replied. Yang wrapped her arm around her girlfriends waste. "Don't worry about him so much, as far as we know he's a cripple with one arm. Not much of a threat." she said. Blake turned her head to face Yang "But if he has prosthetics. He could be coming for us, and he's going to want revenge." she explained. Yang sighed "If he comes back, we can beat him. Same, with Cinder and her other minions. We'll beat them all, I won't let anyone hurt you Blake." she tried to reassure. Blake smiled "Thank you Yang, the galaxy would be a much darker place if I didn't have you." Yang smiled back "I'm the luckiest girl in the galaxy. I've got an amazing girlfriend, and awesome sister, and great friends like Weiss."

"I'd say second luckiest girl in the galaxy, after me of course." Blake said. "You're so sweet Blake. Oh, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. Me and Ruby were talking to Weiss the other day, and she's finally putting herself out there." Yang told her. "That's good to hear, I've never mentioned it. But I noticed she was always slightly jealous of us and of Coco and Velvet. Even Ruby when she got with Ilia and Neo." Blake responded. "You're so observant, I never noticed that. I didn't even realize until she admitted it. Anyway, it seems like Neptune might have a chance." Yang replied. "I don't know about that, there's no way Weiss hasn't noticed how he feels about her. She's not dense enough to miss it, so he might not be her type." Blake said. "We might know for certain soon, now that she's open to a relationship. I'd feel bad for the guy if she does reject him though. He can be kind of annoying, but he's grown on me recently." Yang responded. "Same, but it's up to Weiss. She means more to me than he does, so as long as she's happy I'm happy. Now, do you think we should go and check on Emerald and Neon?" Blake asked. Yang nodded "You're right and yeah, let's see how they are. They haven't tried anything and they've been cooperating. So, I guess we should try and be nicer to them."

The couple, stood up and made their way to the cells. The majority of the cells were empty, with the exception of a few holding prisoners from the last raid and Emerald and Neon's cells. The two women were in neighboring cells, so Yang and Blake stood between them. "What is it now?" Emerald asked. "We just wanted to check on you, get to know you better since you've been so helpful." Yang replied. Emerald looked up "Does that mean you trust me now?" she asked. Yang sighed "Not entirely, but you've kept to your word so far." she said. Emerald nodded "That'll have to do I suppose."

"What about me?" Neon asked. "You haven't wronged us as much as Emerald, and given that you were manipulated by Taiyang. We are more willing to forgive and trust you." Blake answered. "Why don't you let me out then? It's not like I can just run away. Even if I went back to help him, he couldn't do anything to you." Neon responded. "That's up to Raven I'm afraid, but we can ask for you." Blake said. Neon nodded "Thanks. I know you could have just killed me when we arrived."

"So, what do you want to know?" Emerald asked. "If you don't mind. Please, tell us how you ended up working for Cinder?" Yang responded. Emerald looked down and sighed heavily "I was a homeless orphan, I had to steal to survive. One day I stole from Cinder, and she gave me a choice. I could go with her and basically be her slave, or I could refuse and she would kill me. That's pretty much it, that's how I lived until I encountered you. That's why I was so willing to abandon her and try to join you." she explained. "I'm sorry about that, I can't pretend I know what that's like. But there are some of us who can." Yang responded. Emerald looked up with tears in her eyes "Thanks I guess, but it was Cinder's fault not yours. I did terrible things for her, I'm a terrible person." she said. "Emerald, you aren't the only one to have killed for the wrong reasons. I killed a lot of people when I was in the White Fang, and I regret it. But I was strong enough to turn my back on the White Fang, and I was accepted for that. You did the same with Cinder, so although you may have killed Winter. We can accept you, as long as we know we can trust you." Blake told her. Emerald looked up "Thank you, and I'll prove that I turned my back on Cinder. At some point I'll be luring her into a trap, so you can take her out." she said as she wiped the tears away.

"You know you're lucky Emerald, you attacked possibly the only people in the galaxy. Who would willingly forgive and accept you. It may take a while for Weiss to get over you killing her sister, but she isn't as ruthless as you may think. She could have killed you, but she doesn't blame you entirely. It's Cinder she blames, and she is the one who will pay for your actions. You were just following orders, to protect your own life." Yang explained. Emerald nodded "That's kind of what I had hoped for. I had hoped that your little group would be as forgiving and understanding as you are. You're keeping me in a cell right now, but you're way better than Cinder."

"Did Cinder ever hurt you?" Blake asked. Emerald sighed "Yeah, she burns people who displease her. She's depraved, loves to hurt people. The only reason I didn't get punished after failing to capture Ruby, was that she wanted me to get straight back out to track you down. Mercury wasn't so lucky, the last thing I heard from him. Was his screams of agony, as Cinder punished him." she explained. "Sorry to bring that up." Blake said. Emerald looked up at her "It's fine, you need to know how evil she is."

"What's the deal with Mercury, is he like you?" Yang asked. Emerald shook her head "He's not like me, Cinder treats him the same way. But no, we aren't the same. He willingly joined Cinder after he killed his own parents. He's almost as sadistic is she is, I was only close with him because he was the closest thing I had to a brother. You should finish take him out, if Cinder hasn't already done that. He can't be redeemed." she said. "We'll happily take care of him." Yang told her. "Good, I'll finally be safe, when those two are dead. I'm sure you'll be able to take them out." Emerald responded. "I've got to give it to you Emerald, you're doing a good job of reassuring me." Yang said. Blake nodded in agreement "I can sympathize with you, Cinder sounds a lot like Adam. If you feel the same way about her as I do about him, then I'm please to have you on our side."

* * *

 **Next chapter should be up in a few hours, provided nothing unexpected happens.**


	28. Chapter 28: Killers Give Good Advice

**Second chapter of the day. This one answers one of the less important questions, that have come up so far.**

* * *

Weiss was eating her lunch with Yang and Blake, when Neptune walked over. He looked incredibly nervous as he approached. Yang didn't notice him, so Blake elbowed her in the side. Yang looked up and smiled at the sight, she leaned over to Blake and whispered "Told you this was coming." Blake sighed and whispered back "I never doubted it."

Weiss looked at Neptune "Can I help you with something?" she asked. He rubbed the back of his neck "I...I wanted to ask you something." he stuttered out. Weiss raised an eyebrow "Then go ahead, I haven't got all day." she said. Neptune gulped "Alright, would...would you...like to be my...my girlfriend." Weiss sat there for a few moments, thinking of a response. She sighed heavily before speaking "I wondered when this day would come. Look Neptune, you're a great guy and I really appreciate you. But, I can't be your girlfriend It's not that you've done anything wrong, it's just that I don't like you in that way. I'm sorry to disappoint you, and I hope you don't hate me for this. But the answer is no." she told him before getting up and leaving the room.

Neptune dropped down onto a chair, and sighed. "Well, I tried. I didn't really expect her to say yes. She's way out of my league." he said. "Don't say that Neptune, nobody is out of your league. It's just that she doesn't return your feelings." Blake said. He looked up at her and said "That's easy for you to say, just look at who you've got." Yang was slightly annoyed at Neptune's response to Blake, but she held it back. "Neptune, just because one person turns you down. It doesn't mean nobody will ever say yes, you've just got to pick yourself up and move on. As Weiss said, your a great guy. Other people will see that and they'll want you like you wanted Weiss. I'm sorry that you didn't get the response you wanted. But I'm afraid you're just going to have to accept it. Holding on isn't going to do you any good." she told him.

Neptune turned to Yang "I only ever wanted to be with Weiss, I don't know what else to do." he said. Yang and Blake gave reassuring smiles "Don't let it get to you, just keep living your life. Eventually, someone you like equally as much or even more will turn up, and they will return your feelings. Trust me, Blake wasn't the first person I went after, but when I met her nobody else mattered. You've just gotta push through all the bad stuff, until you get to the one you're really meant to be with." Yang said, with Blake nodding in agreement as she spoke.

Neptune smiled weakly "Thanks guys, I guess I needed to hear that. I should probably take your advice, since I don't have any better options. I'm sure there is someone out there for me, I just need to find them. When you see Weiss, please let her know that I don't hater. Tell her that she didn't need to apologize and that I'm not going anywhere." he asked. Yang and Blake nodded "Of course, this just shows that you're a nice guy. Not holding a grudge about the rejection, I'm sure Weiss will appreciate that." Blake said. Neptune got to his feet and said "Thanks again, it's nice to have friends like you." before walking away.

Yang and Blake looked at each other "Well, that was a thing." Yang said. Blake nodded "That was indeed, a thing. I'm going to check on Weiss, you coming?" she asked. Yang nodded "Yeah, if I know Weiss she'll be feeling terrible right now. Let's go." she said as she stood up. They walked out, in search of Weiss.

As Yang had expected, Weiss was once again crying in her room. She was sitting on her bed so the two women sat either side of her. "I feel awful, I knew he liked me for a long time. But I hoped that I'd never have to shoot him down. I bet he hates me right now." She said. "You didn't do anything wrong Weiss, being honest with him was better than leading him on or giving him false hope." Yang said. "Also, he doesn't hate you and he asked us to tell you that. He wasn't particularly happy, but we spoke to him and cleared everything up." Blake added. Weiss looked up "Thank you, but I still feel bad about letting him down." she said. "Weiss, there's nothing wrong with turning someone down. You let him down easy as well, so honestly you have nothing to feel bad about." Blake said. "For two hardened killers, you're amazingly good at giving advice and making me feel better." Weiss responded. Yang and Blake laughed "Just because I can crush a skull with my bare hands, doesn't mean I can't be nice." Yang said. Weiss smiled "You're more than nice, both of you are. You're the most protective and caring people in the galaxy."

"If you say so, but I'd say Ruby is giving us a run for our money on that. I mean look at how happy Ilia and Neo are. They were never like that before she arrived." Yang said. Blake nodded "Yeah, I've never seen Ilia this happy and I've known her since childhood. I don't know what it is about Ruby, but she's good at bringing out the best in people. You know, when she's not disemboweling them or tearing them to shreds." she said. Yang nodded "From what mom told me, Ruby's exactly like Summer Rose. If Summer Rose killed people, instead of just Grimm."

"Speaking of Ruby, did you hear what happened on her last raid with Ilia and Neo?" Weiss asked. Yang and Blake shook their heads "No, haven't seen her much since then. She's been a little preoccupied." Yang said. Weiss and Blake laughed at Yang's response. Then Weiss said "Well, I'm sure you'll appreciate it. So, the crew of the freighter locked themselves in the bridge. At some point Ilia mentioned the HDL, and one idiot decided to make some comments about how, Faunus should be killed. Anyway, they got hold of him and made an example of him. They cut his arms and legs off, castrated him, the decapitated him and stabbed him in the heart. They did it in front of the crew, and they seem to have got the message."

"Damn, I'm so proud of Ruby. Standing up for Faunus like that, she reminds me of myself. I mean I knew she already saw them as equal to humans, and the fact she's with Ilia proves she has no problem with them. But, clearly she feel the same way as I do." Yang said. "As usual, someone who commits crimes for a living is nicer to us than your average Atlesian Citizen. I'm so glad Ruby was willing to join us, even if it did put us in mortal danger." Blake said. Weiss nodded "I'm glad I let her join us, we probably wouldn't be alive right now without her. She's a great addition to this strange family of ours."

* * *

 **Poor Neptune, I know exactly how he feels. Life's wonderful isn't it. Anyway, no spoilers but big things are coming very soon. Prepare yourselves.**


	29. Chapter 29: Cinder

**Third chapter of the day, time for something big. Enjoy.**

* * *

Raven had assembled every tribe member in the area to a meeting. She announced and explained the plan to take down Cinder Fall. "So, here's what's going to happen. Emerald has contacted Cinder Fall, telling her that she has captured her targets and that we are willing to cooperate with her. Cinder will come here, hopefully only bringing a small team of bodyguards. When she arrives, Qrow and I will go with Emerald to meet her. We will try to lure her inside, but if she is unwilling to do that then we will bring Ruby and the other's out to her. Once we have her inside or we bring the girls out, we're going to hit her with everything we've got. Whatever happens from that point, we cannot allow her to escape and we cannot allow her to kill Ruby. Understand?" The whole crowd nodded.

"Great, well Cinder is on her way now. So, everyone get ready for a fight." she sad. All of the tribe members went to prepare for the ambush. So, Raven turned to the remaining people in the room. There was Qrow, Vernal, Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Neo, Ilia and Emerald. "We're most likely going to end up in hand to hand combat with Cinder and whoever she brings with her. I can't have you in your combat outfits and you can't have your swords, because it'll give us away. So, I'm going to give you the clothes you arrived in and hidden weapons to fight with." she explained. The Birds of Prey nodded. "With luck, we may be able to take Cinder down before she can fight back. But I don't think the odds are in our favor. That shouldn't matter though, as we will have the entire tribe to support us and you are incredibly talented fighters." Raven added.

A few hours later, a transport approached the Branwen Palace. It was escorted in by two fighters, to make it seem like the tribe could be trusted. It touched down in the landing area, where the former crew of the Myrtenaster first arrived. There were a few guards standing around as there usually were during a visit, but Raven ordered them inside to make it seem like she trusted Cinder and didn't intend to fight her.

Raven, Qrow and Emerald walked halfway to the transport and waited for the passengers to exit the craft. The rear door opened on the transport and a woman with black hair and wearing a red dress walked out. She was accompanied by two with silver hair and what was clearly a robotic hand. The other was none other than a disfigured Adam Taurus, with a robotic arm. The trio made their way over to Raven, Qrow and Emerald. A number of mercenaries following them out and waiting by the transport.

"Miss Fall, I presume." Raven said. The woman in red smiled "Indeed, I see you've come to your senses Chief Branwen." she said. Raven nodded "I apologize for our previous actions, but I prefer to talk to the person in charge." she said. Cinder nodded back "No need to apologize, Emerald and Mercury should have done a better job." she said. "I assure you, Emerald did an excellent job this time. She made it clear that you were after my prisoners from the SDC." Raven respond. "I must give you credit, it takes a lot to hold your own daughter captive. Even more to willingly hand her over." Cinder said. "It was not a decision I took lightly, but it is for the good of the tribe." Raven replied.

"Well, it's a pleasure doing business with you Chief Branwen. I believe some introductions are in order. This is Mercury Black, I don't believe he introduced himself last time." Raven nodded in acknowledgement, so Cinder moved on "I'm sure you already know, but this is Adam Taurus. Head, or should I say former head, of the White Fang." Raven smiled "A pleasure to meet you Mr Taurus." she said. Adam didn't reply, just scowled at her. "That's not the right way to greet such an esteemed figure, you should know that Adam. Say hello to Chief Branwen." Cinder demanded. Adam sighed "Pleasure to meet you two, Chief Branwen."

"Thank you. Please allow me to introduce my brother, Qrow Branwen." Raven said. Qrow nodded "Pleased to meet you Miss Fall." he said. "Same to you." Cinder replied before turning to Emerald "I'm so glad you came through Emerald, I would have hated to punish you for another failure." Emerald gave a slight bow "Of course Mistress Fall." she said.

Cinder turned back to Raven. "Now, may we see the prisoners Chief Branwen?" she asked. "If you would like to follow me inside, I will show you too their cells." Raven replied. "With respect Chief Branwen, I'd rather have them brought to me. You seem trustworthy enough, but Adam walked into a trap not so long ago, in a very similar situation to this." Cinder said. Raven sighed "I'm somewhat hurt by your lack of trust in me, nevertheless I will have them brought out her." she said before looking across to Qrow. "Bring them here please Qrow." Qrow nodded and walked inside to collect the prisoners.

"So, have you reconsidered my offer?" Cinder asked. "After meeting you in person, I'm definitely tempted. I'd love to get to know you better." Raven said. Cinder smiled "Are you flirting with me Chief Branwen?" she asked. Raven smiled "Apologies Miss Fall, I find it hard not flirting with attractive women." she replied. "Join me and I'll let you do more than just flirt." Cinder said seductively. "That's very tempting, can you just remind me of the deal before I agree?" Raven asked. "Of course. I simply want access to your troops, fleet and resources to cause chaos across the galaxy. In return I will allow your tribe to continue operating the way it currently does, give you a share of any money and resources we accumulate, and now, I'll share my body with you if you agree." Cinder explained. Raven smiled "Say no more, I'm in. I hope we can discuss this further once you have the prisoners." she said. "Excellent." Cinder replied as Qrow emerged with a group of tribe members and the prisoners.

"Here they are, as promised." Raven said. "I'll admit, I had my doubts. But you have proven yourself." Cinder said as she approached Ruby. Adam and Mercury also approached. "I've got you now, I'm sorry it has to be this way. But I need that power." Cinder said to Ruby. Ruby didn't respond.

"Look how the tables have turned." Adam said as he looked between Blake and Ilia. Neither of them acknowledged him.

Mercury looked down at Yang "How does it feel to be sold out by your own mother?" he asked. She looked up at him "How does it feel to lose a hand to a dying woman?" she asked. "Shut up bitch!" he shouted. Yang smirked "Aww, did I hurt your feelings?" she taunted. He raised a hand to hit her, and everything went to hell.

Tribe members came charging out of the building, the prisoners jumped to their feet and slid knives from their sleeves, Emerald stuck a knife in Mercury's back, Qrow and Adam locked swords, and Raven's sword collided with Cinders telescopic spear.

Moments later two large fleets appeared overhead. One was comprised of mercenary warships and the remains of the White Fang fleet. The other was the vast Branwen fleet, under the command of Sun Wukong. They all launched fighters and opened fire on each other.

* * *

 **I'm already writing the next chapter, as soon as this is posted. This should be fun.**


	30. Chapter 30: Fall

**Fourth chapter of the day, I'll leave you to it.**

* * *

"Why? You could have had it all." Cinder said as she blocked a swing from Raven. "You killed Summer Rose and you want my daughter dead." Raven replied as she took another swing. "I was starting to like you." Cinder said disappointedly as she blocked the strike. "If you live through this, I might keep you for my own pleasure." Raven said as she pushed against the spear. "Same to you." Cinder said as she pushed back.

While Cinder and Raven clashed, Mercury had survived the stabbing and was fighting Emerald. "You filthy traitor." he hissed as he slashed at her with his own knife. Emerald dodged "I will not be a slave anymore." she replied. He tried to stab her "I'm going to enjoy killing you." he said. But she sidestepped and slashed his arm. "Likewise." she said as he threw a punch. She pushed his arm away and headbutted him in the face. "Bitch!" he shouted.

Meanwhile, Adam and Qrow were swinging at each other, but there was always a blade in the way. "I'm going to skin you!" Adam shouted. "Shut up kid." Qrow replied. This annoyed Adam, and he tried to kick the older man. Qrow jumped back but kept his sword in front of him. "Aren't you the guy my niece crippled?" he asked mockingly. "Die old man!" Adam shouted as he took a hard swing at Qrow. Again, Qrow blocked it "Easy with the names, it'll just make your defeat more embarrassing." he said as he took his own swing. Adam blocked it but Qrow kept pushing.

The tribe members including the former Myrtenaster crew were in a firefight with the mercenaries. They had them pinned down in their transport, but they couldn't risk destroying it while in such close proximity. Neptune and Yatsuhashi were leading the attack, taking shots at any exposed body parts. A few of the tribe members were taken out by lucky shots from the mercenaries. "If we kill enough of them, they'll just give up." Neptune said. "They have no honor, it is a pleasure to kill them." Yatsuhashi responded before firing off a few rounds.

Up in space, Sun was standing on the bridge of his new flagship "Winter's Revenge" he was joined by Velvet, Coco, Penny, and Ciel as they resumed their positions as officers. "Prepare to broadside!" he shouted as the ship moved between a White Fang ship and a mercenary ship. The heavy cannons on the side of his ship punched through the shields of the enemy ships, venting their atmospheres as they tore into the hulls. They kept firing and moving forward, eventually crippling the ships. "That's their flagship, if we take that out these mercs are gone." he said, and they started heading for their target.

Back on the ground, Raven forced Cinder's spear back far enough to cut her face. The blade caught her in her eye, blinding her on one side. But before Raven could strike again, a powerful kick from Cinder sent her sprawling backwards. Cinder was enraged and she charged at Raven, but she was stopped by Weiss. She had grabbed hold of Cinder's spear and tried to wrestle it out of her hand.

Mercury and Emerald were still caught up in a knife fight. Mercury managed to catch her, and slashed her across the stomach. She stumbled back in pain, and Mercury went in for the kill. Only to be sent flying when Yang's metal fist connected with his temple. He hit the ground and Yang pounced on him. She held him down by the neck and started slamming her prosthetic into his face.

A powerful hit from Adam, knocked Qrow's blade to the side and cut deeply into the older man's shoulder. Adam grinned, but the smile soon disappeared as a knife pierced his side. Then almost immediately after, it was stabbed in the other side. Doubling him over as muscles were severed. He looked up to see Ruby standing between him and Qrow, she was holding a bloody knife. "You aren't escaping this." she said.

Cinder pulled her spear out of Weiss' hands and slammed the side of it into her chest, knocking her backwards. She pulled back ready to impale Weiss, but Raven ran at her forcing her to go on the defensive. She only just managed to block Raven's strike. "I'm going to slaughter you all." Cinder said through gritted teeth. "I don't think so." Raven said as she took another swing.

Mercury's nose collapsed as Yang's fist slammed into it, then his cheek bones caved in with another hit. A third hit shattered his eye sockets, severing his optic nerves and rendering him blind. But Yang didn't stop, another punch knocked out several teeth and cracked his upper jaw. A fifth punch and his bottom jaw split in two, and made his mouth dangle open. The sixth hit tore Mercury's bottom jaw off, leaving his tongue dangling. Then a final monstrous blow came down on his head, his face gave way and Yang's hand went straight through his head. Destroying his brain, and killing him.

Back in space, Sun ordered his ship to open fire on the bridge of the enemy flagship. "Fire everything on that spot!" he shouted. The enemy focused all of their shield in the one area, which allowed Branwen fighters to launch an all out assault on the now shielded areas of the ship. A few of them were taken down but the ship couldn't fend them off. Thousands of rounds, riddled the hull with holes. Spraying viscera into the void as the venting atmosphere dragged people through the tiny holes. As the rest of the Branwen fleet finished off the White Fang, some of them started firing on the flagship. One round entered a hangar, setting off a huge explosion within the ship. Another round hit close to the thrusters, and ripped the back end off as the engines exploded. A third shout hit pierced the hull and hit the ships main dust reactor which powered it. The shields protecting the bridge instantly dropped and the barrage from Winter's Revenge connected with the ship. With the flagship down and the White Fang gone, the surviving ships jumped into hyperspace and escaped the battle.

Adam kept swinging for Ruby, but she kept dodging. He was getting madder and madder, going into a frenzy of poorly timed attacks. Qrow had dragged himself away, and Ruby couldn't risk being killed. So Blake, Ilia and Neo teamed up to take down the raging bull, once and for all. "Finally, you face me." he said as he took a swing at Blake. She ducked under the sword and stabbed him in the stomach as she ran out of his range. Adam swung at Ilia, but she jumped over his weapon and slashed him across the face. Then Adam took a swing at Neo, she dodged the attack and used her knife to push the sword down. Adam's grip loosened for a second, enough time for Blake to land a well placed kick on the side of the weapon. Knocking it out of his hand. Adam sent Neo flying when he slammed his new arm into her stomach. Hitting Neo was a big mistake, when two furious girls dived on him. He was knocked to the ground by Ruby and Ilia.

Raven and Cinder were still evenly matched. Until, Neo who had been sent flying by a blow from Adam's robotic arm collided with Raven. She dropped her weapon and hit the ground hard. Knocking her unconscious. Weiss who was now back on her feet ran at Cinder, ready to stab her. But Cinder was ready, she pulled her arm back and threw her spear straight at Weiss. Weiss closed her eyes, expecting to be impaled but the it didn't come. She dropped to her knees and when she opened her eyes. She saw Neptune lying on his side in front of her, with a spear sticking through his chest. Weiss exploded with rage, she got to her feet picked up Raven's sword which was lying close by, and flew at the now unarmed Cinder.

As their fleet abandoned them, the mercenaries on the ground threw down their weapons and surrendered. The tribe members allowed them to exit the transport with their arms raised. But they were in no mood to be merciful, especially those who lost family members in the ambush. So, they opened fire again on the unarmed mercenaries. Cutting them to shreds in seconds.

Ruby, repeatedly plunged her knife into Adam's lower abdomen. Piercing his stomach, liver, kidneys, intestines, bladder and every other internal organ in that area. Ilia did the same with his chest. She slid her blade between his ribs, collapsing his lung and his heart. He tried to punch Ilia before the blood loss and asphyxia killed him. But he was stopped by Blake stabbing him through the shoulder with his own sword. He looked up at her in shock, before death took him.

Weiss shoved Raven's sword through Cinder, just under her sternum. Cinder dropped to her knees, and Weiss followed her down she twisted the blade causing severe damage and then pushed until the entire blade had traveled through Cinder. Weiss' head ended up right next to Cinder's, there was a faint whisper from Cinder before the death rattles started "I'm only a pawn, Salem is your true enemy."

* * *

 **No, this isn't the end. This story is far from over. See you next time.**


	31. Chapter 31: Aftermath

**I kind of left this on a cliffhanger, then went on hiatus for a while. I'm not making any promises for when I'll next update this story, but here's the aftermath of the last chapter.**

* * *

The scene outside the Branwen Palace was chaotic, there were bodies strewn all over the place and the burning wrecks of ships floating overhead. Mercury Black, lay there with his head smashed to a bloody pulp. Adam Taurus, lay there with dozens of knife wounds covering his body. Then there was Cinder Fall, she was knelt with a sword impaled through her chest.

Unfortunately, many tribe members also lay there. Many of them, riddled with bullet holes from the mercenaries. There losses weren't as great as those of their enemy, but there were losses nonetheless. One of the fallen was Neptune, a tearful Weiss knelt beside him. "Why Neptune? Why would you do this? That spear was mine to take, you should have just let it happen." she said, to the lifeless body of the man who recently confessed his feelings for her.

She sighed heavily "I'm so sorry this happened to you, I swear I'll never forget you Neptune. If I ever meet your family, I'll let them know that you died a hero." she told him. She pulled the spear out of his chest, and shut his eyes. "Goodbye Praetor Vasilias."

Yatsuhashi stood alongside Weiss, he mourned the death of his comrade. The man who was for with him through many engagements, the man who became a praetor with him. Yatsuhashi was a man of very few words, so he just stood there in silence. Remembering all of the things he and Neptune had done together. Losing Neptune was like losing a brother, the years they were together in the SDC had made sure of that. The only thing that made the loss hurt less, was knowing that the person responsible was also dead.

* * *

Emerald sat against the wall of the palace, she was in shock. She had just had to fight the closest thing she had to a brother, and she watched him having his skull caved in by someone who until recently, had been her enemy. Then she also watched, as the abusive mother figure in her life, was impaled by another of her former enemies. Now she watched as her new found allies, dealt with the aftermath of the battle. They dealt with their dead and injures, while she just sat there tending to her own minor flesh wound, the parting gift from Mercury.

When she finally found the ability to speak, she said "See you in hell Merc, hopefully I can crush your skull myself when I get there." She paused for a moment "Same to you Cinder, and I guess Adam too. I hate you all." she said, before falling silent once again.

* * *

Raven was pulled to her feet by her daughter, she had only just come around after being knocked unconscious during the fight. She looked around, seeing that the fighting had come to an end. "Yang. What the hell happened? Last thing I remember, I was fighting Cinder." she questioned her daughter. Yang sighed heavily "We won, but it came at a cost. Qrow, Neo, and Emerald got hurt, and Neptune's dead."

Raven sighed "As long as Cinder is dead, none of that was in vain." Yang nodded "Cinder's dead, Mercury's dead, Adam's dead, and most of the mercs are also dead." she said. "Then I hope we can return to life as normal, once we have buried our dead." Raven responded. Yang shook her head "I don't think it's over yet, but we'll have to ask Weiss about Cinder's last words." she said.

Raven nodded to Yang, then looked at Cinder's body and then to Weiss. "So, Weiss killed Cinder." she said. "Yeah, Weiss killed Cinder. Ruby, Blake and Ilia killed Adam, and I killed Mercury." Yang responded. "Well, this could have gone much better. But it could also been much worse. So, I'm proud of you. All of you." Raven said.

"You're not the only one that's proud." Yang told Raven. "You should be proud, our enemies were no pushovers. Nobody has ever been able to put up so much of a fight against me, or Qrow. So we should all be proud of what we achieved here today, even with the losses we took." Raven replied. Yang nodded "This should send a message to anyone who thinks they can mess with us. Those who escaped should make sure of that, they'll never forget the beating we gave them."

* * *

Blake was with Qrow, helping the tribal medics to treat his deep wound. Getting a good look at the cut, she knew that Qrow would have lost his arm if hadn't been such a skilled fighter. His reactions and strength had saved him from bleeding to death, ot needing a new arm. "Was this really the best your ex could do?" he asked her. She shook her head "No, he could do much worse. You just happened to be too good for him." she replied.

"If he didn't have that robot arm, I could have destroyed him. He wouldn't have even scratched me." Qrow said. Blake nodded "That arm did make him a lot stronger than usual, just like Yang." she replied. "Maybe I should have let him take my arm, since these new prosthetics are turning amputees into killing machines." Qrow said.

Blake shook her head "Losing a limb isn't something you should want. Prosthetics are very good for some things, but in many ways. They are nowhere near as good as the real thing." she said. "You're probably right, but being able to punch through a wall like Yang. I wish I could do that." Qrow responded.

"I can see why it would be tempting, but you should be happy with your original arm. Especially since it demonstrates Adam's failure." Blake said. "I guess it does show his failure. But you've got a bigger example of that. You know, his bloody corpse. That's a pretty good indication of failure." Qrow replied.

* * *

Ruby and Ilia were with Neo. Ruby cradled her girlfriend's head in her lap, while Ilia held her hand. Neo was clearly in a lot of pain, probably having several broken ribs. "It's okay Neo, we've got you." Ruby told her. "We made Adam pay for hurting you." Ilia added. Neo's pained expression briefly faded, and she smiled at the two girls.

"Hitting you was the last mistake he ever made. If anybody else ever tries to hurt you, we will kill them just like we killed him." Ruby said. Ilia nodded "Nobody gets away with hurting our Neo." she said. Neo smiled again. "Did we ever tell you how beautiful your smile is?" Ruby asked. Neo shook her head. "Well, you have the most beautiful smile in the galaxy, and we will make sure that it appears as much as possible." Ilia responded.

Neo's smile grew. "I love you so much, both of you." Ruby said. "I love you too Ruby, and I love you Neo." Ilia replied. Neo blew a kiss to both of the, indicating that she felt the same. "Guys, I know this isn't the normal way to go about this. But screw it, we've never done anything the normal way." Ruby started. Her girlfriends looked at her in slight confusion.

"Today has shown me just how fragile life can be, and how easily it can be taken away. So, it's become clear to me just how important it is to live life to the full, and enjoy it as much as possible." Ruby continued. The girls started to realize what was coming next.

"With that said, I thinks it's time to take the next step in our relationship. I get that we haven't been together for all that long, in the grand scheme of things. But I don't care, I have fallen completely and utterly in love with both of you. So I have to ask. Neopolitan and Ilia Amitola. Will you marry me?" Ruby asked.

The response was instantaneous from both girls. Neo ignored the pain, and nodded vigorously. While Ilia threw an arm around Ruby and said "Of course, I would love to marry you Ruby. I want nothing more, than to spend the rest of my life with the two of you." Ilia then looked down to Neo "So I guess I have to ask. Neo, will you marry me?" she asked. Again Neo ignored her pain, and vigorously nodded.

* * *

 **I'd like to take this opportunity to make an announcement. I will soon be starting a new story, it will be an AU of this AU. It'll be copying a lot of the concepts and lore from this story, but it will have significant differences. Also, there will be no immediate killing of Team JNPR in the new story, I kind of regret killing them off in this.**


	32. Chapter 32: The Dead and The Living

**Hey guys, so I wrote another chapter. Figured I may as well get a few out, before I go on another hiatus.**

* * *

It was rare for the Branwen Tribe to hold funerals, mostly because they saw death as a sign of weakness. However, there were exceptions for those who died heroically. So, a funeral was being held for Neptune and the others who had died in the fight against Cinder. It wasn't just tribe members that were mourned, it was everyone who had died in Cinder's attempt to take Ruby's power. Winter and Jacques Schnee, Saber Rodentia, Peter Port, Fox Alistair, and countless others were remembered.

The tribe was assembled in the main hall of the Branwen Palace. Raven stood before them. She was joined by Qrow, Vernal, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. "For as long as we have existed, we have faced existential threats from many enemies. But Cinder Fall posed the greatest threat we have ever had to face. She slaughtered thousands of our people, and thousands of our allies' people. She did more damage to us and our allies than Atlas ever managed, she came closer to defeating us than anyone before." Raven started, before momentarily pausing.

"We lost a lot of good people in the fight, but they did not die in vain. Once again, we achieved victory in the face of overwhelming odds. This was by far, the greatest victory we have ever achieved. Adam Taurus is dead, and the White Fang utterly destroyed. Cinder's forces took such heavy losses, that they turned and ran. But most importantly, Cinder herself had a Branwen sword driven through her chest." Raven continued.

"We will celebrate our victory, but first we will honor the dead. We will honor our own dead, and the dead of the SDC, and of the Huntsmen, and of Menagerie, and Vacuo. Now, I will allow the others to say a few words." Raven finished before stepping to the side.

* * *

Weiss was first to take Raven's place. She received a few disapproving looks from the tribe, many of them thought of her as an outsider. She ignored their disapproval and went on with her speech, she would win their respect. "I'm well aware that many of you don't like me, but today is not about me. Today is about everyone we lost on the way here, so please put aside your bias and listen to what I have to say." she started, there were a few nods of agreement from the crowd.

"First, I think we should think of the fallen of the SDC. Before Cinder came here, she threw her full force at the SDC. Hundreds of brave pilots were shot down, while engaging her fleet. Hundreds of others died from the relentless assault on SDC headquarters. Had they not borne the brunt of Cinder's wrath, then the White Fang would be a lot stronger and we would most likely be dead." she continued, she took a momentary break as she thought about Cinder's next victims.

"Then, there are all those who died as a result of my Brother's betrayal. I have no exact numbers for how many died, but they will be astronomical. The SDC, the Huntsman Alliance, Vacuo, Menagerie, and the tribe will all have lost thousands in the second attack on SDC HQ, and during the ambush. Among those we lost were my Father, my Sister, General Port of the Huntsmen, General Rodentia of Menagerie and General Alistair of Vacuo. Some of those people were mercilessly slaughtered by Cinder, others lost their lives preventing Cinder from achieving her goal. All of them should be remembered." she continued again, she remembered the pain of losing Winter and hearing of her Father's death. But she pushed on.

"Finally, we come to those who fell in the final battle against Cinder. We will remember those who died fighting against Cinder's armada, and all those who died in the fight against her ground forces. However, there is one person we need to remember above all others." she said, before sighing heavily. "Neptune Vasilias threw himself into the path of Cinder's spear, his sacrifice allowed me to kill her. He also saved my life." she finished. She stepped to the side, allowing Blake to take her place.

* * *

"I hope we can all give Neptune the recognition he deserves, he was involved in the fight against Cinder from the very beginning. He risked his life numerous times in the pursuit of victory. He was there when we first found out about Cinder, he was there when the SDC was attacked, he was part of the team that originally captured Adam Taurus, he stayed with us after the ambush when he had the chance to leave, and he went into the final battle knowing what was at stake. He was a real hero, and he should never be forgotten." Blake started. The crowd seemed to agree with her.

"I also want to say that I am extremely thankful to you and everyone we lost. With your help, we dealt the final blow to the White Fang. Under Adam, it had become just as bad as, if not worse than. The HDL. Taking them out makes this galaxy a hell of a lot safer for humans and faunus alike. With Adam dead, and the organization destroyed. Faunus equality can be achieved in the right way, and any the violence can be directed at those who truly deserve it." she continued. There were cheers from the crowd, especially the faunus tribe members.

"I hope now, that we can be at the forefront of the movement. We can be the ones to show Atlas and the dust companies, the error of their ways. Now I'm not saying we need to do this peacefully, we need to use violence to get through to them. We just need to avoid making the same mistakes that Adam did. No killing of innocent people, and no collaboration with violent megalomaniacs like Cinder. Other than that, let's avenge everyone we've ever lost to Atlas and the dust companies. We should be the ones to take Ironwood down, I know we can do it." she finished. The whole crowd applauded Blake, they all hated Atlas and the dust companies.

* * *

Ruby took Blake's place, and the room fell silent. "Look everyone, you might blame me for everything that has happened. In some ways your right about that, without my power Cinder wouldn't have been hunting me. But even without my power, Cinder would have come for you anyway. Her ambitions were to conquer the galaxy, and you were a barrier to her achieving that." she started.

"Anyway, it shouldn't matter who is responsible for everything that happened. What should matter, is that we remember the people who died and thank them for what they did. They died protecting my life, and your lives too. So we owe them, the least we can do is commemorate them. After everything Cinder took from me, and my friends, and so many other people. I will be eternally grateful to everyone who gave their life, I hope you can do the same." she continued. The crowd started warming to her.

"I will also be eternally grateful to you, and all the others who fought and lived. A few months ago, I was basically alone in the world. If Cinder had found me, I wouldn't have stood a chance. Luckily, I found people who would stand by me and protect me from her. This tribe took me in, and helped deal with Cinder. So thank you so much, thank you for everything you have done since I arrived. I don't think I can ever repay you, but I'll try." she finished. The tribe lost a lot of their distaste to her, thanks to her speech.

* * *

Yang was last to speak. "I want you all to know, I'm proud of you. Cinder put up a hell of a fight, and we still annihilated her. I didn't doubt that we could do it, but the fact we actually did it, that makes me proud to be a Branwen. After today, people will be reminded not to mess with the Branwen Tribe. The survivors will spread the word, they will ensure that everyone knows. Anyone who doesn't take the warning seriously would have to be an idiot, I know for a fact that we can take on anything we have thrown at us." The crowded were worked up, and started cheering.

Then Yang's demeanor changed "Don't get yourselves too excited, I'm not finished. You see, there are a few changes you need to make. First of all, you need to start respecting everyone I brought with me from the SDC. Ruby may not look like it, but she's one of the best fighters I have ever met and hands down, the best pilot I have ever met. She's also my sister, and possesses more power than you could possibly imagine. So stop blaming her for what Cinder did, and start respecting her." she said.

"Blake is also one of the best fighters I have ever met, she's also a princess, the former second in command of the White Fang, and my girlfriend. So, deserves to be respected. Not because of her title, and her connection to me. But for everything she has done, she was already one of the SDC's best before Cinder. But when Cinder emerged, Blake was there for everything. She led the security detail that saved Weiss, and uncovered Cinder's existence. She helped to cripple the organization she used to lead, helped with Adam Taurus' capture, and also helped bring about his death, plus she fully committed to us as soon as she arrived here." she continued.

"Weiss lost more than most, thanks to Cinder. But she never gave up, she joined us and she was the one to kill Cinder. That she be enough for you to respect her. But, if it isn't. Well, for all the time I was with the SDC, I served with or under her. Ruby is my sister, and Blake is my girlfriend. But Weiss is my best friends. She's one of the toughest people I know, and she puts up a hell of a fight. She didn't become the most successful captain in the SDC for nothing, she's meant to be feared and respected." she added.

"As for everyone else that came with me. Ilia, Neo, Sun, Penny, Coco, Velvet, Ciel, Yatsuhashi, Arslan, Bolin, Reese, Nadir, Nebula, Dew, Gwen, Octavia, Brawnz, Roy, Nolan, and May. They all deserve your respect too. They're all extremely loyal, great at fighting in space and on the ground, and they're all tribe members just like you. You should be grateful to have them. They have become some of the best fighters, strategists, and engineers we have. Without them, we may have lost against Cinder. Try getting to know them, then you won't doubt their abilities." she said.

"With Neon and Emerald, when they first turned up. We all had our doubts. But they have proven themselves, and I have grown to respect and trust them. So I think you should do the same. If anything, it'll encourage them to stay loyal to us. Though I no longer doubt that, since beating Cinder would have been a lot harder without them." she continued.

"Now, the other thing that needs to change. The level of training you all have is very good compared to a lot of people. But if we're going to be getting into more things like this in the future, we need you to be even better. We all need to be able to put up a fight against someone with the same skill level as Cinder, Adam, Mercury, or Emerald. Atlas will probably have a lot of highly skilled fighters, and we will have to deal with them. So, training will be stepped up from this point onward. I'm going to get us as close to invincible as possible, I don't want us to lose anyone else." she finished. The tribe willingly accepted the extra training. They weren't happy about the number of people they had lost, and they had seen how good Cinder, Adam, and Mercury had been.

Raven turned to the girls once they had all finished speaking. "Thank you all for doing that, the dead would have appreciated your words, and I'm fairly certain that the tribe did too. Honestly, it's hard to get them to listen to anyone other than myself and Qrow. It's even harder getting them to take what they hear seriously, so you all did very well and I'll let you do it more in the future. Now, I think we have some things to discuss." she said. The girls nodded in agreement, and they all headed off to Raven's quarters.

* * *

 **I think I might release a preview for my new story, see if people like the alternate version of this universe. If you have any ideas on what I should change and what I should keep the same, feel free to let me know. There are a few things about this story that people really don't like, so the new story is an opportunity to resolve those issues. (There are a few things that I absolutely will not change, it is meant to be similar to this story after all.) Anyway, see you guys later.**


End file.
